Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through
by Vegeta8639
Summary: This story starts with Yuuto suddenly gaining knowledge about the world as well as his personality drastically changing. It's basically like a "Time leap" from Steins;Gate. At this point Yuuto starts enacting his plan to get stronger, gather allies and eventually confront Tamamo no Mae. Note:This is a serious story with Shizuku as the main love interest. No comedy, ecchi etc.
1. Fated Encounter

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

The story begins at volume 1 chapter 3 of the manga right before Shizuku first shows up with Yuuto standing at the river. Yuutos brain is suddenly rewriten and he starts acting out his plan.

It's like a time leap from Steins;Gate. All the other characters should be acting like themselves and the world should be the same except I might add some powers or characters eventually like the final form of Yuutos power. There won't be any ecchi maybe some slight comedy, it's meant to be a serious story. There will be graphic violence later on and some slight cursing especially in my notes. Also probably no sex scenes at all so don't bother reading for that.

Now the point of the story is for Shizuku to be the main love interest. To this effect Himari will be treated like shit. Liz won't even exist since this Yuuto sees no reason to bother meeting her. Rinko will be treated as well as I can manage while still getting the story to where it needs to be. As for Kuesu, Yuuto will treat her somewhat like Light treats Misa to the point where he's using her but she is fine with it although it probably won't end well for her. Tama is meant to be a secondary love interest but will probably not show up for a while although I'll probably write a part about what she's doing while Yuuto is doing his thing on this end. Shuten should also be treated decently enough. I'm not gonna spoil what happens to Ageha right now but don't get your hopes up if you like her.

Last thing don't take anything Yuuto says at face value, he is lying his ass off just listen to what Shizuku thinks that's probably the closest to the truth you're going to get for now.

But it is for a greater goal like it says he cannot fail here.

 **Chapter 1: Fated Encounter**

The boy opened his eyes and saw a familiar scene. A river, and a large forest surrounding him.

After starring at the scenery in front of him for a few seconds he calmly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

-The time has finally come.

He slowly walked over to the river and calmly gazed at the flowing water.

Suddenly a spot in the water started bubbling. Unshaken by this he focused his eyes on the bubbling water.

A girl appears from the bubbles and slowly starts rising from the water. She appears to be a young girl with short green hair, very pale skin and emotionless red eyes, starring directly at the boy.

As she walks out of the water she reveals her one-piece dress which is dripping wet along with her hair and the rest of her body. Finally seeing the girl in plain sight the boy, no longer able to maintain his composure, lets out a deep breath and gently smiles as if the greatest weight in the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. With his eyes almost tearing up as he looks at her, this whole event lasting only a few short seconds, he closes his eyes for a split second and quickly straightens his expression leaving only a soft smile now, taking on a more friendly rather than relieved appearance.

This was the only moment he would allow himself to relax as he knew his whole plan was reliant on him succeeding here.

The girl finally walked out of the water with her bare feet and kept approaching the boy, a little perplexed about his subtle reaction and even more so about why he's standing there so calmly now.

Shouldn't he be at least a little scared? An unknown ayakashi has suddenly appeared before him. The Crimson Blade is too far away to help even if she started running now, not that she'd have any way of knowing he was in danger. Even if he knew she wasn't here to kill him his reaction is still strange.

Of course she would never let these concerns show especially now getting within 2 meters of the boy.

Finally the boy speaks.

-Shizuku, I'm glad you showed up.

For a split second she paused almost breaking her expression as she considered all the different possibilities as to how he could know her name. Having quickly ruled out the obvious ones within a few seconds having hit a wall in terms of further reasoning she responded.

-How do you know my name?

With a clearly rehearsed line he answered.

-Not just your name. You probably won't believe me but I know a lot about both you and other things "this" Amakawa Yuuto should have no knowledge of.

Clearly confused by this strange answer that even she hadn't considered she responds without thinking.

-What do you mean?

-It's a long story. Let's sit by that tree and I'll do my best to explain.

Without waiting for her response he walks over to a large tree, sits down and the ground and leans on it.

Thinking there's no harm in hearing him out at this point she walks over after a few seconds and sits down about a meter in from on him. Having sat down she immediately says.

-Talk.

After a slight chuckle he starts speaking.

-Very well, since you probably won't completely believe my story I'll start by proving I possess information "this" Amakawa Yuuto would have no way of knowing.

Shizuku slightly interested listens on and doesn't interrupt him.

-Well as far as you're concerned I know you've been sent here by a bunch of ayakashi to tell me to stop being a demon slayer and go back to my regular life. You would've just given me a warning today and attacked later if I didn't comply. Of course this was because you were worried that if I awoke as a demon slayer I might eventually become a threat to your little group. I'll just tell you I have no intention of attacking anyone at this point. Sure I'll kill any ayakashi that attacks me first but that should be obvious.

Hearing this Shizuku immediately thinks there's plenty of ways he could have gotten this much information. Even a simple deduction from the current circumstances could have yielded that much information, less her name of course. Of course she has no reason to trust his words about not attacking ayakashi at this point. It could be a ruse simply to stop her from killing him until his powers awaken at which point he could betray her any time he chooses.

-Well with that out of the way let me tell you what I know about your past.

At these words she twitched and looked at Yuuto, this time with eyes eagerly awaiting his next sentence.

-I know that your clan was in the past worshiped as water gods until one day the Jibashiri family came and wiped them all out simply because they were ayakashi.

Shizuku twitched again, harder this time, but before she could say anything Yuuto continued.

-At that time you were away picking raspberries and came back to see that sight from hell. You ran away as fast as your legs would take you and managed to survive. A few months later you learned the identity of the people who destroyed your clan and swore to take revenge one day. However during the great war the Jibashiri family was wiped out forever preventing you from wreaking your vengeance.

Thoughts were flooding into Shizukus head. How could he possibly know her story in such detail. He should have been living a normal life until a few days ago. Even if the Crimson Blade told him about the great war and the annihilation of the mizuchi she shouldn't know so many details. No, first of all how did he even know she'd be coming right at this moment to warn him. It makes no sense until just around 20 minutes ago she was watching him while the ayakashi were attacking. He seemed completely ignorant of everything, that's why she had thought he could return to his normal life and the Crimson Blade also showed no signs of having orchestrated anything this complex.

None of this makes any sense. Was it all an act? Did they know she was watching them?

No impossible, her stealth more is perfect. With all these thoughts going through her head Yuuto kept going before she could say anything.

-I guess at this point I should probably tell you how I know all this stuff.

Shizuku finally snapped back to reality and spoke slightly agitated.

-Tell me.

-Right well the short answer is "you told me". Of course to that you'd say "we've never met" and you'd be right. You've never met "this" Yuuto before however I'm different. Short story is I came from the future.

Very unamused Shizukus face full of anticipation suddenly goes back to being emotionless as she says.

-There's no such magic in this world. Start telling the truth. How do you know so much about me?

-True there is no such "magic" in this world however the thing that brought me here was science.

-Science?

Shizuku questioned immediately.

-Yes more specifically a device was able to open a small worm hole large enough for a few Mb of information to slip through to the past. I then used my powers to send my memories back and engraved them into this Amakawa Yuutos brain essentially traveling back into the past.

Very skeptical of the story Shizuku begins wondering what his intentions are.

Why would he make up something so ridiculous? However she can't come up with any believable reasons for why he would know so much as this point. Deciding to inquire further about this subject hoping to learn more about his intentions she asks.

-So why did you travel back to the past?

-Right, I come from some 2 years in the future. At this point there was a huge war going on. Around a year from now Tamamo no Mae along with Shuten-Douji will come to this city looking to feed on strong ayakashi so they can regain their powers.

Hearing the name of the legendary ayakashi somewhat peeked her interest.

-They went around killing any ayakashi who wouldn't join their army eventually planning an all out war against the humans. And searching for strong ayakashi they ended up attacking Himari. We fended them off for a while until eventually all hell broke loose about a week before I traveled back. Himari consumed Tamamo no Mae along with all her dark energies and grudges of ayakashi she had consumed prior. I tried to stop her before Tama was dead but she disobeyed and killed her anyway.

At this point Yuutos face which had been relatively calm until now suddenly put on an agitated expression and with eyes full of hatred Yuuto looked in a random direction.

Although still somewhat confused herself, Shizuku took mental notes of Yuutos reactions trying to figure out as much from his story, which she wasn't taking at face value, as possible.

Yuuto continues

-At that point she looked at me with the eyes of a beast only wanting to kill. By then I had mastered my powers and had plenty of combat experience. I was getting somewhat agitated by the whole situation so I started radiating hostility and a fight ensued. I was able to kill her without too much trouble and made my way to the second battleground.

Yuuto paused and put on a pained expression.

Shizuku unsure what to make of this urged him to continue the story.

-Go on.

Yuuto brought back to reality spoke.

-Before I go on I should go back to our original meeting.

-Huh?

Shizuku exclaimed slightly surprised.

-Right, it happened like I said before, you warned me right at this river, that's how I knew you'd be coming, and in fact why I came to this time specifically. Oh right, "this" Yuutos brain was altered around a minute before you showed up.

Shizuku was not overly surprised considering she sensed the change quite easily seeing how she's been following him around for a while before that.

-Then of course I didn't listen and kept doing whatever I wanted and you attacked me and Himari at a beach, although you clearly had no intention of simply killing me since you went to the trouble of waiting for me to wake up so we could talk.

Yuuto thinks for a few seconds.

-Anyway after a fight you seemed to figure out I was not some blood thirsty demon slayer and didn't want to fight. You withdrew and the next day came back and said you wanted to observe me and make sure I wasn't lying. That's also when I learned a bit about your past. At that point you started living with us and eventually fighting ayakashi that attacked which brings us to 2 years later and the war.

Shizuku quickly realized what he was getting at and what she might expect to find on the second battleground.

-I guess you can probably tell by now. Yes when I finally showed up it was already too late. You were inside a lake creating a massive barrier around the area we were fighting in to prevent civilian casualties and damage to the surrounding area so we could go all out. On that end you, and a few other allies I had gathered at that point, were fighting Shuten and you were unable to block or dodge while maintaining the barrier. One of the enemy ayakashi launched a projectile weapon and you took a heavy hit.

Slightly irritated that he so casually knows about one of her powers, even the fact she's practically defenceless while using it, Shizuku ponders what if anything would make her take such a risk. And even more importantly what would prevent her from simply dropping the barrier and dodging the attack. Was it that important that nobody got hurt? Did she find something even more important that her own life? Quickly dropping this train of thought she keeps listening to Yuutos story.

-Both Shuten and most of my allies were dead in a mutual annihilation type scenario and you were already gone by then.

Again putting on a somewhat sad expression Yuuto slightly averts his gaze from Shizuku.

-Anyway unsatisfied with the outcome I might have gone on a small rampage through the city and of course the demon slayers together with the government went out to stop me. After a lot of fighting and running away I was badly injured and about to die when a man appeared. He asked: "Are you unsatisfied with the outcome?". After nodding "yes" he continued: "Then rewrite the past" and he told me about the device at which point I used my powers to send my memories back.

Still extremely skeptical of the story Shizuku finally spoke.

-I get the gist of the story. So could you contact this man in this time period so he can confirm your story.

-Impossible, I don't even know his name. Not to mention he might not even have the device at this point. In fact he might have already anticipated my arrival in which case we wouldn't be able to find him unless he decided to reveal himself.

Thinking how convenient that was, but deciding not to point that out right now, Shizuku quickly changed the subject.

-So assuming I believe your story, what's your plan now? I imagine you'd probably want to prepare for the war if you want to change the outcome. Or do you plan to stop it from happening?

-Right I don't expect you to believe my entire story but I still felt like I should tell you. What I need you to accept right now is that I have knowledge "this" Amakawa Yuuto shouldn't posses, especially about your situation, and also believe me when I say that the war is coming. The rest is up to you whether you want to believe it or not although I think after witnessing my predictive powers you won't be able to doubt me forever.

Clearly he is right about possessing knowledge he shouldn't have but I can't simply accept what he says about the future. I suppose if I reject his second premise he will just tell me to observe his less distant predictions and then use that as proof he has knowledge of future events. The fact he knew I would be coming is a good example, I can't simply object to that. But for now I'm more interested in what his plan is after I accept his premises, so let's give it a try.

-Very well, I suppose I can accept both of your premisses.

Showing a slightly glad expression Yuuto continues

-Excellent, then on to the main topic. I need your help.

It was either this or asking me not to kill him and let him move freely while he prepares for war.

-My help?

-Yes, hold on for a second.

Yuuto looks at his palm and after a few seconds yellow static flashes and disappears.

-Hmm, as I am now it would take about 3 days for my powers to return and probably a couple of months before they're fully functional. Also this body is weak, if an ayakashi attacked me right now I wouldn't stand a chance.

-Don't you have the Crimson Blade protecting you for that reason.

-Heh, you really think I could trust her after what happened? She could turn on me any second. And it's not just that, I need someone to help me train as well as eventually help me deal with Tama and Shuten-douji as well as other fights that might arise. You're the only one who can do this.

-Even if what you're saying is true and we fought together in your world, this me has no reason to help you.

-Of course I don't expect you to help me for the same reasons as you did in my world. Here you actually have a lot to gain from helping me.

-What do you mean?

-Well leaving things as they are Tama will eventually reach you and you'd be forced to join her or become her enemy, and that would mean certain death if she wins the war. I'm offering an alternative. We would be working towards a common goal. Other than my knowledge of certain future events I'm also an experienced fighter. If you help me reach my prime again I would be a match for either Shuten or Tama if it was 1 on 1. I just need to strengthen my body and get used to it and I will be as powerful as back then. I'd say in around 3 months I should be at around 50% of my former power and at full power by the time they show up a year from now.

If he truly is as powerful as he claims it certainly would be useful to keep him on my side, however I don't know if I can trust him at this point. He could be laying a trap and his story is pretty ridiculous. Although if he does start predicting future events like he claims he will, it would be an easy way to erase any doubts. And again even if he is telling the truth what if he turns on me as soon as he gets back to full power? It's too dangerous, I will have to refuse. I should retreat for now and plan my next course of action.

-I refus….

-Also if you help me I will make sure you get your revenge.

Cut off mid sentence by Yuutos sudden words Shizuku is pretty shaken and angrily says.

-What are you talking about? The Jibashiri family was destroyed years ago during the war.

-Most of them were destroyed yes, however some of them survived and became inactive. One of their descendants is still living today as a normal human, but her blood is still that of Jibashiri.

Shizuku is left completely speechless by his words and quietly listens on.

-Kuesu, one of my allies knows where she is and can contact her. If you agree to help me until the matter with Tamamo no mae and Shuten-douji is settled I promise after 6 months I will allow you to meet her, and I promise nobody will interfere no matter how you chose to proceed. Of course I'll also guarantee your safety, at least until our contract is over. I'll trust you to keep your promise after that.

I still don't know if I can trust him however he's clearly shown he possesses knowledge that he shouldn't. Whether his story is true or not, what he claims about the Jibashiri descendant might still be the truth. 6 months is nothing compared to how long I've waited, not to mention the fact that I'd thought it was impossible until just now. Even though he might betray me I cannot pass up the possibility of getting my revenge. The answer is obvious.

-I accept.

With a blank expression as if he knew no other answer was possible he said.

-Good. Starting tonight you'll be staying at my place. You probably need to report to Kagetsuki and the others about what happened and get your things in order, so let's regroup in a few hours. You know where I live right?

Of course he casually knows Kagetsukis name too.

-Yes I know.

-Right, wait outside the house at 19:00 I'll walk out and let you in. I need to get everything settled so nobody throws a fit when you show up.

-You need to tell the Crimson Blade your story?

-No, you're the only one I plan on telling. If I told anyone they'd just think I was crazy and there's nothing to gain from it. You're free to tell whoever you want if you think it's a good idea but avoid telling Himari and anyone else I associate with. It would just create unnecessary problems.

I'll just make something up about how I've remembered my past at my grandparents place or something to explain my change to Himari. I've gotta make sure she obeys me unconditionally too for my plan to work. She's probably done with her little bath now, I should probably go back and talk to her. You're welcome to come watch as long as she doesn't see you.

-Very well demon slayer I'll do as you've said and meet you at your house later.

-Oh right, from now on you can call me "Light".

-"Light"? I don't mind.

-If anyone asks why just say something like "It's short for "Light ferry user"" or something.

-Very well then, Light we'll regroup at 19:00 at your house.

-Right.

With that Shizuku jumps into the trees and becomes undetectable.

Yuuto is left sitting alone under a tree, slowly gets up and start heading back into the forest.

End of chapter 1

 **After chapter notes:**

The name of the story refers to the shadows (traumas/bad memories/grudges whatever you want to call them) in both Shizuku and Yuutos souls. Again won't spoil anything but clearly they would be each others light to break through the shadows and it's also Yuutos new name. From here on Shizuku (and some others) will call him this. If you ask why that would be a spoiler but it has nothing to do with his Light ferry and also nothing to do with Light from Death Note. But I will tell you it's short for "Lightbringer" so take that how you will. (Also from here on out I'll refer to him as Light in both narration and notes)

Next chapter Light should talk to Himari and Rinko and establish their future relations, welcome Shizuku into his home and tell her some of the short term aspects of his plan and end after the first night.

Any feedback is welcome including suggestions or ideas about what you'd like to see. I've got the general event layout planned out as well as what happens to each character but I might change my mind if I feel like it. Also tell me if the text format is readable. It should be clear which character is talking but tell me if it's difficult to distinguish between narration and thought. If it is I might put the thoughts in italics or something. Chapter 2 coming soon.


	2. Insomnia

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

A few things to keep in mind before crying that Himari is acting out of character. At this point she's only known 16 year old Yuuto for a few days, the Yuuto she knew never found out she was an ayakashi meaning she would have no idea what his reaction to it would be and in the manga in this same conversation she tells Yuuto one day he will have to kill her. My position is at this point she would like to get closer to Yuuto and have him treat her like a girl however her oath and mission takes precedence. I think Rinkos acting pretty ok here albeit perhaps a bit more rational than usual but w/e.

Next as far as time in this story is concerned, the manga doesn't usually show exact months and days. We can assume by the time of year and the fact Yuuto is still 16 and in the same school year approximately how much time has passed so I took some liberty when it comes to how long until certain events take place, like Lights estimate on when Tama will show up, in order to give him time to train so it's more realistic. The first 2 chapters of my story take place on a Sunday since manga Himari clearly says that is the day they go to the mountains.

The exact minutes on the clock don't matter too much right now but at some point I will make 2 events coincide to the point where it will matter. That's it for now enjoy.

 **Chapter 2: Insomnia**

Light slowly makes his way back to the spot Himari was waiting, now having finished her bath.

Meanwhile Shizuku was following him while hiding in the trees using her stealth mode which was so perfect not even a powerful ayakashi like Himari could sense her presence.

Of course she knew Light would probably assume she would be watching considering his earlier invitation to do just that. However this still gave her some sense of leverage since Light couldn't know for sure whether she was watching on not.

Finally Himari comes into sight as Light keeps making his way towards her. Suddenly his face which had remained calm until now turned into an emotionless face with eyes filled with what could only be described as pure hatred. Seeing this change Shizuku starts thinking.

Those eyes. They're the same as mine, filled only with a pure desire for revenge. This aura he is emitting couldn't be fake. This is so different from how he looked at her some 30 minutes ago, it's almost impossible for him to be the same person. Whether his story is true or not aside, I can't help believing at least his disdain for the Crimson Blade is genuine. There's no chance in hell he would trust her with his life if he can look at her with eyes like that.

Having approached closer to Himari. Lights face remained rather emotionless while his eyes loosened up to the point where you wouldn't be able to see the killing intent, instead only appearing distant or slightly determined. Of course Shizuku could still sense the aura he was emitting although somewhat impressed by his ability to hide his emotions to this extent.

Finally with Light coming close enough Himari speaks.

-Young master, have you had enough time to get your thoughts together?

-I guess you could say that. More importantly my memories have slowly started coming back to me one by one like a chain of dominos.

Himaris face showed a somewhat happy reaction as she interrupted him.

-Does that mean . . .?

-Yes, I've remembered my grandparents, the house I used to live in, my demon slayer heritage and also about you.

Hearing this Himari, with her face gleaming with happiness and excitement, made her way closer to Light in an attempt to hug him.

-Stop!

He spoke in a commanding voice while gesturing the same order with his arm.

-Young master?

-I am the last surviving member of the Amakawa family. The head of the family used to be my grandfather and you've been ordered by him to protect me until I became a demon slayer and was ready to accept my place as the next head.

Now putting on a much more serious expression Himari replies.

-That's true, I was ordered to protect you after your amulet lost it's power until you made up your mind, and became strong enough to accept your role as a demon slayer.

-Then it's decided. From now on I will accept my role as the head of the family along with our secret teachings and powers, and will train to the point where I can truly call myself a demon slayer. As the acting head I hereby relieve you of any orders you've received from my predecessors and place you under a new oath under me.

Himari thought to herself.

I always knew one day he would take up this responsibility although I never imagined it would be this soon. I would have liked to keep on protecting him for a bit longer until he made up his mind but I'm sure this is what his grandfather would have wanted. It has always been our destiny to serve the Amakawa family ever since my ancestor was spared and made that oath.

After a slight smile Himaris face becomes serious again and she responds.

-Amakawa Yuuto, I Noihara Himari hereby acknowledge you as the head of the Amakawa family, and swear to obey you as my ancestors have done for generations. Your grandfather would have been proud to see this day.

Nodding his head Light responded.

-For now you may keep living with me and protect me if need be, you can continue going to school and act how you please however you are to obey my direct orders without question. The second you disobey my order I will execute my duty as the head. . .

(For a second as he finished this sentence Yuutos expression from earlier came back)

. . . and kill you on the spot.

Looking directly at him without flinching she replied.

-I understand.

I always knew one day he would have to kill me. I am glad to know he will be able to do it without it bringing him too much pain. I guess my wish of wanting him to care for me like back when he was a child was selfish after all. This is for the best.

With Lights expression changing back to a relaxed one the tension suddenly dropped.

-Good. Then lets eat our meal and head back.

-Huh? How did you know I had packed us lunch?

-Well of course you would. In fact it would be problematic if we went so far into the mountains and you didn't bring any food.

-You've become pretty perceptive young master.

-It was nothing special just a simple deduction.

And with that they started eating the lunch Himari had brought along.

Meanwhile Shizuku who's been watching this thought to herself.

His skills of deception amaze me. Of course even he can't completely hide his true emotions but he can certainly do it well enough that most people wouldn't be able to tell. It seems like the Crimson Blade will obey him at this point just like he said. Her reaction also seemed genuine, there's no way they planned this out beforehand. Still it's pretty impressive how she remained unfazed by that much killing intent in his eyes. It's almost as if she doesn't mind being killed by her master if she disobeys his orders. For now at least, I can probably trust that she won't betray Light. That is unless she goes crazy like he said she might. I should probably head back and report to Kagetsuki and the others about what happened. I guess I should decide what exactly to tell them first. . .

Light and Himari had gotten up and started heading back home. While walking away Light raised his hand as if waving to somebody behind him.

Surely he couldn't have seen me, he must just be guessing that I'm here. And certainly the wave was in no particular direction.

With this Shizuku finally stops following them and starts heading back to make her report while Light and Himari made their way back to the Amakawa household.

. . .

-I've decided to keep an eye on him for a while and make sure he's telling the truth.

Shizuku was in a forest talking to a group of ayakashi about her encounter with the Amakawa demon slayer. She has only told them about his promise not to attack ayakashi and that she would be staying with him until she has determined he wasn't a threat.

Random ayakashi from the group are voicing their concerns and engaging in the conversation while Shizuku is replying to them one by one.

-So he claims to mean us no harm and won't attack any ayakashi that don't attack him first. That's an interesting claim for a demon slayer. He is probably only saying that because his powers have not yet awakened. The second he becomes powerful enough he will undoubtedly attack us.

-I'm not so sure about that. That's why I've decided to stay at his residence and observe him for a while. If I ever determine he is a threat to us I will kill him.

-Staying with an enemy, isn't that far to dangerous. The Crimson Blade is there too. What if they launch a surprise attack while you're there.

-Don't worry I would not be so easily caught of guard. Worst case scenario I can turn into water and escape, there is very little risk involved.

Finally with most of the faces now nodding in compliance, Kagetsuki who has been silent until now speaks.

-Is that all you have to tell us?

-Yes, I'll be staying there starting tonight.

-Very well, everything you've said seems reasonable. I have no objections.

With Kagetsuki finally agreeing the group starts dispersing and Shizuku also starts heading out.

However barely moving a 100 meters she stops and starts speaking.

-So you've realized there's more to the story.

Kagetsuki who is standing some 4 meters behind her responds.

-Of course, not only does this decision seem sudden and unnecessary, but you're also clearly hiding something.

-True, he claims a great war is coming, and offered an alliance in exchange for me protecting him and helping him train until he's strong enough.

-A war?

-Yes, he claims in a years time Tamamo no Mae and Shuten-douji will come to this town looking to feast on strong ayakashi and anyone who doesn't join them will the killed. The end goal is an all out war against the humans.

-The legendary ayakashi? If what he says is true, that is certainly a problem but how can you be sure we can trust him? He could betray us soon as he becomes powerful enough to no longer need your help. You wouldn't accept such a risky proposal from someone you've just met.

-Perceptive as ever. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, a promise of ensuring I get my revenge.

Kagetsuki sights and speaks with a serious face.

-There's nothing I could say to stop you is there.

-Correct. Even if it's only a small possibility I cannot pass up this opportunity.

-I hope you're making the right choice. Be careful around that demon slayer.

With that Shizuku walks away and Kagestsuki soon does the same, in the opposite direction.

. . .

Light and Himari get back to the Amakawa household where Rinko is currently waiting. Before heading inside Light suddenly speaks.

-I'm going to tell Rinko my decision. Just stay quiet behind me and don't interrupt.

-It's not going to be pleasing news since she would rather have you lead a normal life.

-Exactly, so let me handle it.

They head inside and find Rinko in the Living room reading a magazine.

-We're back.

-Oh welcome home Yuuto.

-Rinko I need to talk to you, it's pretty important.

Thinking it could only be one of two things Rinko replies with a serious expression.

-Sure, what's it about?

-I've regained my memories of 10 years ago and finally remembered my grandparents and who I used to be.

Rinko, now pretty sure about what he's going to say next makes a pained expression but doesn't interrupt him.

-Demon slayer blood runs through my veins and as the last surviving member of the Amakawa family it is my duty to keep the tradition alive and inherit our ancient teachings. It's what my grandfather would have wanted and my parents had no right to keep this from me. The ayakashi will not go away, they've been here all along and now that they know about me they won't just let me live a normal life.

So I will train and become a demon slayer capable of fighting anyone who dares threaten me or the people I care about.

With a sad expression Rinko starts speeking.

-I had hoped we could just go on living like we always have, but deep down I knew that what we've learned cannot be taken back. Like back at school when that ayakashi possessed Taizou. That will just happen again and next time you will be killed if you don't learn how to fight back.

-Exactly. Hanging around me has become dangerous. I'd understand if you decided to stay away for your own safety.

-You idiot! I'm not going to abandon you just because of something like that. You'd be completely lost without me.

-Rinko. . .

-You need me now more than ever. I'm not scared of getting hurt, I'm more worried about what you'd do if I left you alone.

Putting on a slight smile Light responds.

-Very well, in that case I'll just have to become strong enough to protect you next time. I guess I'll have to keep being a burden on you.

-Don't worry Yuuto, I don't mind. I'll help you out in anyway I can so that you can focus on your training.

-Right thank you. I'm sorry our quiet lives have been shattered but we should do our best to deal with the current situation.

Turning to Himari Rinko shouts.

-But I'm not gonna let that cat sleep in your bed and do whatever she wants!

Yuuto turning around responds.

-Oh her? Don't worry about it she swore an oath to me now. I'll just clear out one of the guest rooms for her. Himari, from now on no more surprise visits to my room at night, you are to sleep in your own room.

With a slightly annoyed face Himari responds.

-I'm a bit disappointed but I will do as you command.

A bit surprised Rinko acknowledges the solution.

-Well that's fine then, but I'll still be keeping an eye on her.

Checking his watch which was now pointing to 18:13 Yuuto starts speaking again.

-Ok with that out of the way, I've got a little announcement for both of you.

Both girls curiously look at Lights face wondering what he's about to say.

-Starting tonight we'll be having another guest staying with us. She's a Mizuchi and she's gonna be helping me train for a while.

Rinko replies first.

-Another one? One was more than enough.

-Don't worry Rinko she's coming here to help us out not cause problems.

With that Himari finally snaps and bursts in.

-Young master! What are you saying, the Mizuchi hate demon slayers. And where is this even coming from.

-Oh right, back at the forest after we split up, I met her at a river and she's the one that helped me regain my memories. Apparently she's an acquaintance of my grandfather and her talking about him is what jogged my memories. After learning of my predicament she decided to help me train for a while.

-I've never heard of such an acquaintance. How do you even know you can trust her? Maybe she's trying to get you to drop your guard so she can kill you in your sleep or something.

-No, that's unlikely. If she wanted to kill me she could have done it easily back then. Not to mention if it wasn't for her I'd still be indecisive about becoming a demon slayer, confused about what to do.

-I still don't like it. It sounds too fishy to me.

-Enough, this isn't a debate it's already been decided. She'll be here in some 30 minutes and living with us for the foreseeable future. My decision is final.

-Fine I'll wait until she shows up and hear her side of the story.

-That's fine I guess but I'm warning you now if you do anything to make her uncomfortable you'll regret it. And this next one is an order.

His eyes suddenly regaining their killing intent (Rinko as a human unable to sense it).

-If you attack her under any circumstances I will consider it a direct attack on me and deal with you accordingly.

Himary unsure what to make of this, but knowing she cannot object to an order when presented like this responds.

-I understand.

Rinko not really understanding what's going on starts talking.

-Fine if we're having another guest I had better start making dinner.

And she starts heading off.

-Right I'll call you when she gets here.

Light and Himari are left alone in the living room.

-Don't worry I trust her, she's not gonna attack us or anything.

-I suppose you wouldn't have spoken so strongly otherwise. Very well I'll trust your judgment for now, but I still wanna talk to her.

-No problem, just remember what I said and don't do anything you might regret.

Some time passes with Light checking his watch every couple of minutes. Finally around 18:58 he gets up.

-I'll be right back, don't go anywhere.

-Alright.

Yuuto walks over to the front door and steps out of the house at around 18:59. Finally at 19:00 Shizuku reveals herself.

-I came like you requested.

-Right, glad to see you. You'll be living here for a while starting tonight.

-Have you gotten everything taken care of?

-Yes, I told them you were an acquaintance of my grandfather and helped me regain my memories. Also that you'll be staying here and helping me train and I ordered Himari not to attack you.

-Seems like you've got all your bases covered. Very well Light, shall we head inside?

-Of course let's go. I'll introduce you and if they ask any questions beyond what we've discussed I'll cover for you.

With that they head inside.

-Rinko come over here for a second!

And Light leads Shizuku into the living room. Rinko also arrives shortly and Himari's been there the whole time.

-This is Shizuku, the girl I was talking about. She'll be staying with us for a while and helping me train so please be nice to her.

Rinko wasn't sure what to expect since Light never described the girl that was coming over. She had expected another Himari-like girl showing up and endangering her position even more but was relieved to see it was just a little girl. With that Rinko steps forward and speaks with a smile.

-Well aren't you cute! Hi my name is Rinko and I live next door, I always hang around here though so I hope we can get along.

She stretches out her hand. Shizuku takes it and replies with her emotionless voice.

-Pleased to meet you. I'm Shizuku and I'll be in your care for a while.

Thinking her somewhat strange but harmless Rinko was relatively satisfied with the introduction. With that Himari steps forward and speaks.

-So you're an acquaintance of grandpa Gen correct?

-Yes a very old acquaintance I haven't seen him in years. I showed up after hearing about the predicament his grandson was in and decided to help out. You must be the Crimson Blade right. I hope we can get along.

Unable to think of anything wrong with her story, while remembering her masters orders and put in this position Himari replies with a bland expression.

-Fine I'm Noihara Himari, I guess we'll be living together for a while. Let's try to get along.

With Shizuku nodding to that the introductions were over and Light gave a satisfied nod and spoke again.

-Right. We're going to my room for a bit to discuss further strategy. Let's go Shizuku.

Shizuku silently follows him while Rinko not seeing her as a threat exclaims.

-Ok dinner will be ready around 20:00.

And heads back into the kitchen while Himari with an annoyed expression stays in the living room.

Light leads Shizuku into his room. He pulls over a revolving chair and sits on it backwards with his arms and chin resting on the back.

-You can sit on the bed.

Shizuku takes a seat and starts talking.

-That went well. Nobody is suspecting anything. Looks like your plan is going smoothly.

-True you played that nicely. Himari had no excuse to object.

-You're the one that did all the prep work, I just had to stick to the story.

After a slight pause Light takes a breath and keeps talking with a serious expression.

-First lets establish a default daily meeting time. Starting tomorrow every day after dinner around 21:00 you should come to my room and we'll discuss our plans. We're talking right now so there's no need to meet again today.

-Fine, I have no problem with that.

-This will remain in affect until stated otherwise. Tomorrow's a Monday so I have to go to school. After I come home we'll go shopping for supplies.

-Do you really have to go to school at such a time?

-It's fine. It's to help me keep my cover, and if the need really arises I can just skip, it won't be a problem. Anyway I won't be able to use my powers at all for the next 3 days so we'll just shop for supplies tomorrow and train my body the other 2 days. Himari will protect me at school but I'll be relying on you for the remaining time.

-So you will trust the Crimson Blade to protect you while you're at school?

-It'll be fine, she won't go berserk so easily and without a trigger. There's no risk.

-Very well, so what should I do while you're at school?

-You're free to do whatever you want unless I need you to do something specific. Just make sure you're here at 15:00 when I come home. Any other questions?

-Not at the moment.

-Ok then, there's still some time before dinner so let me show you to your room.

They get up and move into a guest room with a bed, some cupboards, drawers, a closet, a night light and a window.

-This'll be your designated room but you're free to move around the house in anyway you want. Also feel free to use anything you need there's towels and sheets in the drawers. Same goes for food and whatever else comes to mind. My room will be our main meeting place though. Is anything unsatisfactory?

-No everything's fine for now.

-Right, then we should probably head back.

With this they made their way to the dining room where Rinko and Himari were already waiting with dinner prepared. There was fish and rice as well as a salad.

Everyone was eating with some small chit chat in between until Light spoke up.

-Himari I need you to do something for me.

-Huh? What is it young master?

-I need you to contact the estate and request the best knife in our vault to be brought to me as soon as possible. I'll need a weapon after all.

-Fine I'll do that but don't you want to try using a sword? It has more reach and is easier to use.

-Don't worry about it I know what I'm doing.

Shizuku could tell at this point he's probably fought with a knife before. Why else would he be this sure about using one?

Dinner ended around 20:32 and everyone started slowly heading to the living room one by one to waste some time before bed. Time passed and eventually around 21:30 Rinko finally spoke up.

-Well I guess it's about time I head back home. Good night everyone.

To which Light responded.

-Good night.

A few minutes later Himari spoke up.

-I'm heading to bed too young master.

-Right sleep well.

And she headed to the bedroom she was assigned earlier.

About two minutes later Light spoke up again.

-We should probably head to bed too Shizuku.

-Very well. I'll see you tomorrow before you head to school.

-Right. Good night.

-Good night.

And with this everyone headed to their respective rooms.

Shizuku having changed into her nightgown went to bed at around 22:12 however it took her over an hour to finally fall asleep and even then she never went past a light sleep which could be broken by any significant sensory stimulant. This wasn't because the bed or house disagreed with her, she's been like this for a long time. The reason for this is that she's always on guard, ready for a surprise attack any second even in her sleep. A dagger or sword slashing for her throat would be enough to wake her up and give her time to morph into water and dodge it.

This is the kind of life she's been living for many years now. Used to it however, she got around 6 hours of sleep total until she finally got up around 06:30 the following day.

As for Light however it was a different story. Having entered his room around 21:52 he spent some 90 minutes sitting in his chair looking out the window. Some of this time was spent thinking, some zoning out and looking at the scenery with some episodes of talking to himself.

-It all worked out. The first phase of the plan went off without a hitch. Establish primary relationships. Next the training begins. I have finally gotten this chance I cannot let it slip out from under my fingers.

I will accomplish what I came here to do and destroy anyone who tries to stop me without mercy.

After 90 minutes he finally got changed into his pajamas and went to bed at which point he proceeded to toss and turn for a good 40 minutes, at times getting somewhat agitated. Finally, around midnight unable to take it any longer he got out of bed and decided to start doing push ups in an attempt to tire himself out and fall asleep. However barely managing to do 10 before collapsing he started panting and speaking again.

-Urgh. Huh, huh, huh, this body is so weak I can't believe it. I've got more work cut out for me than I thought.

He ended up doing 3 sets of 10, 12 and 7 respectively. Tired out with aching muscles and after drinking some water Light went back to bed and finally after 12 minutes managed to fall asleep at around 00:30.

However similar to Shizukus case he never went past a light sleep and woke up again after only 2 hours at 02:30 and continued tossing and turning seemingly even more agitated than before.

This lasted until some 03:10 when he managed to fall asleep again this time lasting only 90 minutes. At 05:00 he finally got up the most agitated he's been the whole night and while shaking spoke.

-I can't take this anymore. There better fucking be one.

Saying this he got up and started to rumble through his drawers until he finally pulled out an mp3 player and putting the headphones in his ears he laid back on his bed facing the ceiling.

Finally after a song started playing he calmed down and while of course awake, he probably truly rested for the first time the entire night. He proceeded to play music until 6:50 at which point he put the mp3 player away and got out of bed. He got a total of 3 ½ hours of sleep.

This is how the first night ended. . . .

End of chapter 2

 **After chapter notes:**

I again took some liberty when it comes to Shizukus insomnia since I believe this is pretty much how it would be for such a character. In the manga she sneaks into Yuutos bed at night so clearly she has no problem waking up late at night. Also as a reference there's Yami from To Love-ru. Her character is somewhat similar to Shizukus and she is in this exact situation in regards to her sleep.

Next note that the walls in the Amakawa household are thick enough so nobody can hear Light talking to himself. Also he was listening to whatever Yuuto had on his mp3 at the time but it was enough for this night at least. He will start fixing things the next day so the following nights won't be this bad.

That's about it for this chapter. Next time Yuuto will go to school, go shopping with Shizuku while explaining his plans through the purposes of the items and the second night should conclude it.

Again any feedback is welcome. Till next time.


	3. Acclimatisation

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

Everything should be pretty clear about this chapter. I'll just say Red Bull power! Go to after chapter notes for explanation about the delay and future plans.

 **Chapter 3: Acclimatisation**

After a long night Light goes to the bathroom to prepare himself for the coming day. Eyes red from lack of sleep he washes his face and heavily sighs while looking at the floor with his hands on the sink.

After a couple of seconds he dries his face with a towel and looks at the mirror. Straightening his face and clearing up his eyes he starts looking normal enough and satisfied with that he exits the bathroom and heads towards the living room. There he finds Shizuku reading a newspaper. She quickly looks up and speaks first.

-Good morning.

As if his drowsiness suddenly vanished Lights face brights up as he puts on a slight smile and replies.

-Good morning. Did you have any trouble sleeping in a new place?

-No, everything was fine. Rinko's already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

-Right I'll head over there in a sec. (Slight pause) I'll head out to school soon, just kill some time until I get back then we'll go shopping.

-Don't worry I remember. I just have to be here at 15:00 right? It won't be a problem.

-Good. So had breakfast yet?

-Not yet, Rinko said you usually eat at 07:00 so I was waiting for you.

-Ok let's go eat then.

Without replying Shizuku puts down her paper and follows Light into the kitchen. There they find Rinko still preparing breakfast and this time Light speaks first.

-Good morning Rinko.

-Oh you're up Yuuto? I've fried up some eggs and bacon for breakfast and I'm about to pack us some sandwiches and rice balls for lunch.

-Thanks for always helping me out like this. I'm gonna go set the table and get some milk. You want something to drink Shizuku?

-Water's fine.

-Ok, go take a seat I'll get this done in a sec.

Rinko finishes packing the rice balls and sets the food on the table while Yuuto pours himself a glass of milk and gives Shizuku a glass of water and sits down too. At this point Himari walks in with a greeting.

-Good morning young master. I've sure slept well.

To which Rinko replies.

-I guess that's what happens when you don't go around sneaking into other peoples rooms all night.

-It's a shame but those are the young masters orders.

At which point she gives a glance at Shizuku.

-Good morning Mizuchi.

-Good morning cat. We were just about to eat breakfast.

-Of course I was going to join you.

With that she takes her seat and everyone starts eating. As Light is drinking his milk Rinko starts speaking.

-This is strange, you don't usually drink cold milk in the morning.

-True it's for my training. You'll see when we get back I'll be drinking protein shakes instead starting tomorrow. I'll be needing a lot of meat and grains too.

-I guess getting in shape isn't a bad thing, even if it's just so you can fight ayakashi.

-I've been thinking about doing it for a while now but this definitely made up my mind faster. That reminds me, Himari you'll still be coming to school with us but you're going to have to behave starting today.

-What do you mean by that young master?

-I mean stop calling me that in public for starters. Just act like a normal student and do what the teachers tell you. You're job is to protect me while I'm at school so try to lay low and not blow our cover. Remember we're suppose to be regular students attending high school.

-Fine I'll try not to attract too much attention.

-Good. That should hopefully calm the situation at school a bit.

Light thinks for a few seconds and continues eating. Around 07:20 everyone has finished breakfast and Light is clearing the table along with Rinko. Shizuku's sitting around waiting for everyone to leave and Himari is getting ready for school. After everyone gets ready, Himari and Rinko are standing outside while Light is speaking to Shizuku.

-I'll be gone for a few hours, hope you're fine by yourself.

-Don't worry I'll find something to do.

-I'll leave you a key so If you get too bored you can go take look around town. It might prove useful later.

Taking the key she responds

-I'll consider it.

-Well see ya, I'll be back around 15:00.

-Right see you then.

And with that Light heads out and leaves for school together with Rinko and Himari, while Shizuku is left alone at the house.

. . .

They made it to school around at 7:47 still 13 minutes before class started. With Himari now behaving herself Light with Rinkos help was able to easily clear away any misunderstandings and the class had calmed down by the end of first period. Rinko was her usual self while Himari was doing her best not to attract attention. She wasn't paying attention to any of the lessons but was fine as long as nobody spoke to her. At the same time Light was pretty uninterested and half asleep during most lessons however he seemed to pay some attention to history class until finally it was time for math.

They had just started learning quadratic functions and Light was very easily completing the problems way before the teacher could write the answers on the board. The teacher seeing this, had decided to give him a more difficult problem to work on while he was teaching the rest of the class. He looked at the problem for some 20 seconds and after a slight smile proceeded to solve it in under 5 minutes.

Having seen this the teacher spoke up with a happy expression.

-I'm very pleasantly surprised Amakawa. You're test scores so far have been pretty average but it looks like you've been putting in some work recently.

-Well I've always liked math, it just took me some time to get the hang of it.

-As a math teacher I'm always happy to hear that. I'll be sure to find you some interesting problems for the next class.

-I'd very much appreciate that teacher.

With that the bell rang and it was time for lunch break. Rinko, Himari and Light made their way to the rooftop and started eating.

-What was that earlier during math class Yuuto? You've never been very good at math.

-I guess it was just lack of practice. I've been more into studying recently.

-I haven't really noticed but I guess you're right.

After a while Himari spoke up.

-Young master I can't take it anymore, classes are so boring. I wanna go do something.

-You'll have to bear with it we've only got 3 classes to go. Maybe if you tried paying attention you wouldn't be so bored.

The schedule for weekdays was 4 classes with 5 minutes in between then a 30 minute lunch break and then 3 more classes with only 6 classes on Wednesday.

-But I don't care about any of this stuff and I'm too far behind on math to be able to follow what the teacher is doing.

-Well that's certainly an issue, I don't really care how you amuse yourself just don't cause a commotion.

-Fine. I'll try sleeping or something.

Lunch ended with some idle chitchat and they headed back to class.

. . .

Meanwhile back at the house Shizuku wasted some time finishing her newspaper and after looking around the house for a bit eventually ended up watching TV for a few hours. Then finally around 11:30 while laying on the sofa she thought.

. . .Maybe I will head outside for a bit. And with that she locked up the house and went out. After walking around town for a while she starts thinking.

There's an unusual amount of ayakashi around here, is it because they are sensing the Amakawa demon slayer? Or perhaps the Crimson Blade is attracting them? Or is it something far more ominous. With these thoughts she makes her way to the top of a large building and looks at the scenery. She looks up at the sky which is relatively clear with a few white clouds scattered around.

The air currents are acting odd. It's like a large amount of energy is being directed away somewhere outside the city. It doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment but I might want to investigate this eventually. . . . .

I've still got some time to kill, maybe I should check out the shopping district. After some more walking around she eventually heads back to the house and reads a history book on the Roman civil wars that she found earlier on one of the bookshelves. At 14:51 Light, along with Himari and Rinko finally come back from school. Light heads into the living room and greets Shizuku.

-We're back. Did you have any problems while we were gone?

Thinking whether to tell him about the abnormalities she decides to keep quiet for now and responds.

-No, everything was fine.

-Oh you're reading about the civil wars. That was one of the great turning points in history. One of my favourite subjects.

-I don't really know much about history outside of Japan, but this is still pretty interesting.

-Guess I'll have to tell you some stuff about it one of these days. Well I'll go get changed so we can go out. Get ready and come to my room in some 10 minutes.

-Sure.

And with that Light goes into his room and changes into casual clothes. He goes over to a drawer and looks through some banking notes.

-This should be fine.

He takes out some cash, credit cards and a few pieces of paper with some relevant information and puts the rest back. After putting on his gray jacket and taking his phone he spins around on his revolving chair for a few minutes until Shizuku arrives wearing a Gothic purple dress with long black boots and a black ribbon in her hair.

-Ready yet Light?

Getting up and walking towards her he responds

-Yup, lets go.

They pass by Himari and Rinko in the living room and Light shouts while passing by.

-We're going shopping now. Be back in a few hours.

And with that they leave the house. After walking away for a few seconds Light starts talking.

-So did you end up leaving the house at all?

-I went out around noon and walked around aimlessly.

-It's good to be familiar with the area, you never know what might happen. You haven't eaten anything yet right?

-No, not since breakfast.

-In that case, lets have lunch first before we go shopping.

-Didn't you eat at school?

-That was hours ago, I'm hungry again anyway.

-Fine. So where are we going?

-There's a really nice family restaurant by the beach. It's usually not very crowded either. Sound good?

-Sure, I don't mind.

-Ok then lets go.

With that they start walking in the direction of the beach. This time Shizuku is the one who sparks up a conversation.

-Did you have any problems at school?

-Huh what kind of problems? Nothing attacked us if that's what you mean.

-I meant your classes. You didn't have any problems following lessons since you've been out of the curriculum for so long?

-Not really, I've learned all this stuff before. Also I was studying math for college entrance exams before I got here so no problems there.

-What about the cat?

-She didn't cause any commotion this time, although she complained about being bored a lot.

-I see.

They arrive at the restaurant, which only had two more couples eating, and sit by the window.

-I'll just have a beefsteak and some Red Bull. Want me to get you a menu?

-No it's fine I'm not picky, I'll just have what you're having. And some water would be nice.

-Right then.

With that Light calls over a waitress and orders for both of them.

-Two beefsteaks, a can of Red Bull, and a liter bottle of water please.

-Sure thing. Would you like anything else.

-No that's all for now.

-It'll be ready in about 15 minutes.

And the waitress leaves. She brings them the drinks pretty quikcly and leaves again to wait for the food. After emptying her first glass of water Shizuku starts speaking again.

-So what's the plan after we eat?

-We're gonna go around the shopping district and buy all the stuff I need for my training and some other things we'll need eventually. We should probably go to the electronics store first so we don't have to carry the heavy stuff around for too long. . .

Heavy stuff? What exactly is he planning to buy? Whatever I'll just find out when he buys it.

Light starts sipping his Red Bull and after the first sip acts like a bolt of electicity just went through him and then breathes out.

-That feels much better.

-Is it that good?

-You've never had any? Here take a sip.

He hands her the glass and she takes it silently. After a few seconds she takes a sip and hey eyes widen slightly.

-That's quite something. You could probably run a marathon if you drank a few of these.

-Red Bull gives you wings after all.

. . .

Around 40 minutes later they finish eating, Light pays the bill and together with Shizuku heads towards the shopping disctict. They arrive at a rather large store which sells all kinds of electronics, from televisions to hardware, speakers, phones etc.

Light takes 2 prepaid phones from the shelves along with a pair of high quality earphones.

-I'm gonna go to the counter for a bit. I've got to order some custom hardware too so it could take a few minutes. You can look around the store or wait outside if you want.

-Ok.

She looks at the television displays which are playing scenes from nature and random advertisements. These humans sure have gone to great lengths to replicate reality. All this technology has made them lazy and weak. . .but I guess it also hepls them overcome their physical limitations and make life easier. . . .I don't understand what any of these letters and numbers mean (referring to the specs and models), I guess I'll just wait outside.

After 15 minutes Light finally walks out of the store and after seeing Shizuku makes his way towards her holding a small bag with him.

-There you are. I wasn't sure whether you were still in the store or not.

-I left after a while. Done shopping here?

-Yea I made my order and paid already. Oh yea give me a sec.

He pulls one of the prepaid phones from the bag, fiddles around with it for a minute and fter he's done hands it to Shizuku.

-Here this is for you.

-A cellphone?

-Yea I put my nuber in it already. We can use it to communicate at a distance, it will definitely be usefull in the future. I recommend you carry it at all times, also feel free to call me if anything comes up. If I don't pick up or reject the call something's probably up. Do you know how to use it?

-I'll figure it out. Should be simple enough.

-Well then we should move on to the next location.

-Where's that?

-I guess the sporting goods store. After that we should probably drop the stuff of at the house before going to the supermarket.

-Oh so you're probably buying weights. That's why we're going there last.

-Exactly. Well, let's get going then.

They walk to the sporting goods store where light picks up a variety of items including a ten kilo weighed vest, a jump rope, a pair of workout gloves, a pair of bag gloves, good running shoes, one and two kilo leg weights, Whey protein, a shaker and some workout clothes.

-Don't worry I'll just wear the weithed stuff home, here you can carry these bags they shouldn't be too heavy.

-Are you sure? I'm a lot stronger than I look you know. I could probably carry all the stuff it it's to heavy for you.

-I will admit this body is pretty weak right now but I can manage. No way I'm letting you carry my weights for me.

-Fine, have it your way.

And without much trouble they make it back to the house at around 19:00. Light walks in first, drops his stuff down and says with a sight.

-Christ that was ridiculous. Guess I've got my work cut out for me.

Rinko walks into the hallway to greet him.

-Oh you're back. That's a lot of stuff you got there.

-And we're not even done, I've still gotta go to the supermarket and buy some stuff there too. We're just here to drop this off first.

Shizuku walks in and asks while holding the bags.

-So where do you want this stuff.

-Let's just leave it in the living room for now, I'll deal with it later. I'm gonna go to the supermarket right away since I'm already dressed and I wanna get it over with. You don't have to come if you're tired.

-. . . . . . .It's fine I'll go.

-Dinner will be ready by the time you get back.

-Right, sounds good.

Himari walks in as they're about to leave.

-Young master you're back.

-Yea just to drop some stuff off but we're heading out again. I'll be back in time for dinner.

-I don't really like you going off without me but fine.

-Don't worry, I already told you I'm fine. We'll we're off.

At the supermarket Light buys some food items, sports drinks, fruit, milk etc. and a metric fuckton of Red Bull. After noticing Shizuku looking at him he speaks up.

-You're welcome to drink some of it if you want.

-. . . . . . .Sure I'll do that.

They get back to the house by 19:40 and after changing they headed down for dinner which passed uneventfully minus Himari informing Light that she had contacted the estate and his knife would be arriving in a couple of days.

After killing some time everybody had split up until Shizuku went to Lights room for their daily strategy meeting.

-Good work today. We got everything we needed and should be good to proceed according to the plan.

-So tomorrow we'll start after school again?

-Yea about that, I'll be taking some time off school starting tomorrow.

-That's a surprise. You seemed intent on keeping up your cover yesterday. Why the sudden change?

-It's just for a couple of days until I get into shape. After today I've decided it's necessary to put all my effort into training for now.

-Very well. So we'll begin tomorrow then.

-Right a bit after breakfast. That's it for today unless you've got any other questions.

-No, nothing right now.

-Right then, good night.

-Good night

With that they split up for the night and Shizuku goes back to her room. I didn't find much out today but it looks like he's at least serious about training. There was also that disturbance in the air currents earlier. I wonder if it's man made. . . .

She goes off to her room, changes and repeats a similar night to the previous one.

Meanwhile at Lights room he manages to do 3 sets of 13 push ups before colapsing onto his bed and thinking again. It's definitely getting better, I just need to take this seriously starting tomorrow and of course I need to adjust my diet.

Today was pretty good, everything went as planned and I even feel like I could actually fall asleep tonight. And Shizuku. . . .I promise I'll protect you this time, the rest is up to you. . . . . . . . . . .

With those thoughts flowing through his head he dozes off for a good 3 hours this time before waking up and turning in his bed for some 90 minutes at which point he fell asleep for another 2 hours or so and then after drinking a can of Red Bull he spent the rest of the night thinking and listening to music on his new earphones.

End of chapter 3

 **After chapter notes:**

This chapter is pretty straightforward. The reason why it took me so long to write it is the fact I've been studying like a dog for my university entrance exams as well as finals so I didn't have much time. I've graduated highschool now and have about a month left until the entrance exams but I have more time now so I might publish some chapters before then. I had this one half finished for 2 weaks and wanted to get it out along with this update so here it is.

I also felt very inspired and came up with basically the whole story from when Tama shows up to the end and I think it will be pretty good and look forward to writing it. It's a long way away still but I'll most likely get there eventually.

Next chapter Light will start training for real and I'll probably start skipping days making a training montage type of thing until he's at least somewhat fit. In the next few chapters expect some sparring with Shizuku and establishing Lights fighting style and powers, the fight vs Ageha, the meeting with Kuesu (btw I know exactly what to do with her in the end now) and eventually I'll write what Tama and Shuten are doing while Light is doing his thing on this end.

Sorry for the delay and I'll probably be writing a lot more from July onwards, I really want to get to where I'm getting. Till next time.


	4. Somber Light

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

Again not too much to keep in mind before reading this. I've finally started skipping days to get to the important stuff quicker. And the time passing is important both for Lights training seeming realistic as well as his relationship with Shizuku.

Oh and if you see dots like this ". . . . . ." in the middle of someone talking, it means a pause and if it's at the end probably a fade out of scene or long silence.

Enjoy

 **Chapter 4: Somber Light**

Light, with his body still full of caffeine, gets out of bed around 5:30 feeling surprisingly refreshed. He does a few stretches, washes himself up and changes into casual clothes.

-So the real work starts today. . .

He makes his way to the living room where Shizuku is already waiting reading a book. Not bothering to put on a smile Light greets her first, more naturally this time.

-Good morning Shizuku, have you been up for long?

-Not really. I got here around 30 minutes ago.

-I've got a long day today so I need to eat something filling. I'll go cook some steak, you want some or should I make you something else?

-For breakfast? A sandwich would be fine, and maybe some rice.

-Sure no problem.

Around 6:15 Rinko walks into the house and makes her way to the kitchen without much noise. Seeing Light cooking breakfast she greets him somewhat surprised.

-You're up early Yuuto, and it's rare to see you preparing breakfast.

-It's fine once in a while isn't it? Anyway I'm going to need a strong diet from now on for my training, we should go over some meal ideas later.

-I'll be glad to help anyway I can, please let me take care of the meals in the future. I don't want to feel useless while you're working hard.

-Sure I'll take you up on that offer starting tomorrow. Here I made some sandwiches already, eat up.

She sits down next to Shizuku, who was already eating, and takes a sandwich from the plate. Right as Lights steak was nearly complete Himari walks in looking as rested as ever.

-Good morning young master, oh you've made steak. That smells good.

-I cooked two so you're welcome to have one. Here put this on the table while I prepare my protein shake.

He takes a shaker bottle, fills it with milk. puts a scoop of Whey protein powder in and starts shaking it with his hand.

-This is a must if I'm going to build my muscles, as well as a proper diet of course.

-I'm glad to see you're taking this seriously young master, you don't want to relly only on your powers to keep you alive against powerful ayakashi.

-Exactly, my powers aren't that useful actually if I don't know how to fight, or if my body can't keep up.

-Oh you know what your powers do already?

-My grandfather told me when I was little.

-Your memories returning seems to have made things much easier.

After a few minutes with everyone almost having finished their meals Light speaks up again.

-I'll be taking some time off school starting today to focus on my training.

-Huh? Yuuto are you sure you should do that? Does this have to interrupt your ordinary life so soon?

Shizuku watches silently.

-Don't worry about it Rinko it's probably only until the end of the week. I have perfect attendance anyway, a few days off won't cause a problem.

-I support your decision young master, school is pointless and boring anyway.

-Oh you'll still be going Himari.

-What? Why?

-It would be too suspicious if we both stopped coming at the same time. Especially with that stuff you pulled the other day.

 **-** But that's not fair. And I'm suppose to be the one protecting you while we're at school.

-It's only a couple of days. Think of it as a mission. I promise there'll be some action soon. Just bare with it for now.

With a downed expression and a sigh Himari finally resigns.

-If that's what you command.

-Good. That's settled. You best get going soon or you'll be late.

-Fine.

Himari leaves to get ready and Rinko follows soon after.

-Bye Yuuto, see you in a few hours.

-Goodbye young master, don't do anything reckless.

-Don't worry I'll be fine. I'll just be doing some standard workouts for now.

Both girls head off, leaving Light and Shizuku alone in the house. With a slight sigh of relief Light turns to Shizuku.

-Well that's done.

-You handled that pretty well. So what will we be doing first?

-Well it's still early. I think I'll start with a morning run first, see how far body will take me. You don't really have to do anything at this point but I'll be needing your help later. For now just make sure no ayakashi attack me.

-Guess I can't really help you train if your body can barely move. Fine I understand. I'll keep a lookout somewhere nearby while you run.

-Right, I'll go put my running clothes on, go get ready or whatever and meet back here in 5 minutes.

-Ok.

Light goes to his room, puts on his shorts, running shoes and a running shirt. He grabs his mp3 and earphones as well and puts them in his pocket then goes back downstairs. Shizuku was there wearing a simple one-piece dress with a flower pattern on top and sandals.

-Ready to go Light?

-Yea, just give me a sec to set up my earphones.

-You'll be wearing those on your run?

-It's good motivation to keep me going. Plus matching the beat will help me run anyway.

-Makes sense. So what is your route?

-I'm planning on running to the park, then probably around it a bit and back here. Depends on how fast I get tired.

-Fine should be easy enough.

He puts on his earphones puts on a playlist of motivational music and rap, sets his mp3 in his pocket and gets going.

-I'm off. Make sure you keep a lookout.

And he runs off at a jogging pace.

-I should get going too. . . .

Shizuku slowly walks out onto the street, then after Light is out of sight she leaps onto a house and keeps an eye on him from above.

-I wonder how far he'll make it. . .

On Lights end he is pacing to the music, controlling his breathing the best he can. His legs don't really hurt yet but his heart is beating fast and he is getting pretty tired.

As he passes out of view again Shizuku starts leaping from building to building following him and evenually gets to a relatively tall one.

-Doesn't look like any ayakashi will show up. Since I'm up here I might as well use this opportunity to examine those air currents again.

Shizuku closes her eyes and reads the moisture in the air, while feeling the wind flow through her hair.

-I don't sense anything unordinary. Perhaps the phenomena is over. Or maybe whatever was causing it is taking a break. . . .

She looks down and sees Light resting on a park bench panting.

-Guess that's his limit. . . . I better go see how he's doing. No need to tell him about this, especially now that it seems to have passed.

Light ran about 2km total and decided to rest a bit before heading back. After catching his breath he looks up and sees Shizuku.

-Oh, hi. Not my finest moment but it's not as bad as I thought. I should be fine after a couple of weeks.

-That's good to know. Doesn't seem like there's any ayakashi in the area. . . . . . . Are you plannig to run back?

-Yea after I rest for a couple of minutes. Here sit down next to me, no point standing there like that.

-Ok.

She sits down next to Light who closes his eyes and takes a deep breath then relaxes for a few minutes looking at the scenery. Shizuku just sits there looking at the trees swaying in the wind. Noticing the lack of people in the park she speaks up.

-The park is pretty empty today. It is unpopular?

-That's kinda true, but most of the people who would visit a park should be at school or work right now. I'm the one who probably shouldn't be here (slight chuckle).

-I see.

-Well I've rested up, I'm gonna head back. Since nothings showing up you can go ahead to the house and wait for me there.

-Got it.

She dashes off ahead and Light puts his music back up and starts jogging back. He makes it back to the house at around 9:30 and rests up in the living room where Shizuku was waiting. After a few minutes he speaks up.

-That should be enough running for today.

-So what's next.

-I'll do some push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, that sort of thing. Hmm I should probably plan my routine in the future so I can do this stuff in the park. I could do some pull-ups on the bars there. . .

-Doesn't seem like there's much for me to do here either. Guess I'll just continue reading my book. Good luck with your workout.

-Thanks. And don't worry I'll be needing your help soon enough. Just stick around and protect me in case something attacks for now.

-Got it.

Shizuku takes off her sandals, lies on the sofa and reads her history book.

Meanwhile, Light drinks a Red Bull, grabs one of the sports drinks from the fridge and heads to the yard to continue his workout.

He does 5 sets of 15 push-ups, 10 sets of 15 sit-ups and 5 sets of 20 crunches while drinking his sports drink in between. After that he takes a shower, puts on some clean clothes and makes his way to the living room around 11:00.

Shizuku was now watching some random film about penguins on TV while eating a peeled apple from a plate.

-Done with your workout?

-Yea that should be good for today. My body needs to rest, there's no need to overexert myself.

-Sounds reasonable. . . . So what are your plans for the rest of the day?

Light sits down on sofa next to her.

-No idea, It's just past 11:00, still hours before Rinko and Himari come back. What are you watching? Something interesting?

-Penguins.

-Hmm.

And they watch TV for a few hours. . .

. . .

Himari and Rinko come back at around 14:40 and Rinko speaks up first.

-We're back!

To which Light responds.

-Welcome back.

-So how did your training go? I hope it was worth it missing school.

-It went well, I should be good to go in a couple of weeks at this rate.

-I bet you haven't had lunch yet. I'll go make something, what would you like?

-Oh perfect time to go over my diet now. I made a list. Give me a sec I'll go get it.

At this point Himari walks in.

-School was so boring young master, especially with you not even there.

-To be fair you're the one who decided to transfer in. . . . Don't worry it's just for a couple more days.

-Fine I guess. I'll go get changed.

Light comes back and goes over his list with Rinko which had a body building type diet with lots of meat, carbs, proten etc. Rinko made mashed potatos and some chicken for lunch and everybody proceeded to eat.

The rest of the day was spent uneventfully. Light went over some school work he missed with Rinko, Shizuku read another book while Himari lounged around and watched some TV. They had dinner, split up and Shizuku went to Lights room for their daily meeting around 22:00.

-Tomorrow will be pretty similar to today.

-So how long do you intend to do this.

-Well, a few more days and I can probably start practicing my fighting. I can also feel my powers returning, I'd say 2 days until I can do some basic things with them.

-Very well. I'll just keep protecting you like today. Anything else?

-Nope, that's it for today. Good night.

-Good night.

Shizuku goes to her room and spends the night as usual. Light still somewhat fatigued from his training falls on his bed and just lies there falling in and out of sleep without much else happening.

. . .

The next day Himari and Rinko leave as usual and Light goes jogging to the park, bringing his workout gloves and a sports drink this time, with Shizuku following like yesterday. She took the time to check the air currents again but nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Light reapeated yesterdays workout except adding pull-ups and chin-ups on the bars to his routine and then jogged home after resting.

Rinko prepared some food from Lights list and everybody ate as usual. A few hours later while Light, Shizuku and Rinko were watching TV in the living room Himari walks in and speaks up.

-Young master, this just arrived for you from the estate. It's the knife you requested.

It was an old japanese style knife with a hilt about the same size as the blade. The blade was 8 cm long covered by a sheath. She hands it to Light.

-I'll go to my room and try it out a bit. Shizuku you can come too.

-Ok

Then walk to his room and Light plays around with it for a bit, trying different holds testing it's weight, feel etc.

-Good. It's very well made and easy to use.

-You'd have to get in pretty close to cut someone with that.

-Don't worry, my powers will help out with that. I'll show you what I can do when they return.

-If you say so.

-I'll carry this around with me from now on. Lets head back.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully as well as the daily meeting and everybody went to bed as usual.

. . .

After the following days training after some rest, still before Himari and Rinko come back, Light and Shizuku are standing in the yard talking.

-I feel my powers surging through me. I can do some limited things with them now.

Still ignorant of what his powers are Shizuku thinks to herself. Will he even tell me the truth if I ask him? Whatever I'll give it a shot.

-So what do your powers do anyway?

Without hesitation Light answers honestly.

-Right, you'll need to know if we're gonna be fighting together. I can change the molecular structre of things, thereby strengthening them. Not just durability, but also stuff like making a sword or knife sharper. I can do this to anything that's in contact with my body, but it's the strongest if I use my hands. When my power completely retruns I'll be able to use it in more advanced ways but for now strengthening an item is just about my limit.

-Interesting. So If you lose contact with the item, does it revert back to normal?

-Eventually yes, but it will retain it's form for a few seconds so I can use items as projectiles too.

-Like your knife?

-Hmm I rather not toss that since I'd be disaremed, but in theory yes.

-Fine. So you'll be practicing using your powers too from now on?

-No, they won't become more powerful with use. It's that charms fault they're weak now, I just have to wait for them to return. Normally a demon slayer would get stronger by using their power since they'd grow more accustomed to it and learn how to control it better, but in my case I already know how to use my power so there's no point.

-I see.

-So with that out of the way, I can finally do this. Watch.

Light takes his hand and puts it on the back of his head. What looks like yellowish electricity starts flashing from his hand and he starts moving it through his hair towards the front. The areas he passes through become pitch black and in a few seconds his entire hair becomes like this.

-Much better.

-What did you do?

-Oh, the final form of my power makes my hair like this anyway. Since I've grown used to it I figured I might as well make it like this now. Anyway that's it for today, lets head inside.

They killed some time until Rinko and Himari came home, Light explained his power is back and made his hair like that and the rest of the day went by like normal.

. . .

The next few days passed in training, Light eventually went back to school on Monday and they went back to their old routine of Shizuku waiting at home while the others are at school. The next Saturday after school they went to a nearby gym so Light could use some of the equipment and use the punching bag. Light is using an array of punches and kicks on the punching bag with Shizuku standing a few meters away and watching him, thinking to herself.

He has good technique, but his strikes are pretty weak. This would barely be enough to neutralize a lesser ayakashi. . .

As Light keeps hitting, his speed and power start to increase with every blow as Shizuku looks on in surprise.

Huh? Why is he so much stronger now?

She notices a spark fly from Lights fist.

Hmph, so that's it. He's using his powers to strengthen his arms and fists. Probably his gloves too. I guess there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to, since he can use his powers on anything he makes contact with. So why not his body itself?

With this he could potentially fight on par with a stronger ayakashi.

After one last left hook, probably stronger than all the previous ones, Light stops and starts panting trying to catch his breath. Shizuku walks up to him and tosses him a towel.

-That was pretty good. I can understand now what you meant earlier about your powers helping you get close to the enemy. You intend to get into close combat and slice them with a powered up knife or something.

-Exactly. But my power increases my strength exponentially. In other words, the stronger I am on my own, the stronger I become when using my power. That's why I had to get into shape and train up first.

-That makes sense. To be honest I was starting to doubt that you'd be able to fight well enough in time, but with this you just might be able to.

-That's good to hear. . . . well lets head back.

The rest of the day passed by as usual and the daily meeting was taking place around 22:30. Light was looking out the windown where huge storm clouds were gathering and the occasional sound of thunder could be heard.

-Do you like rain Shizuku?

-As a Mizuchi I could hardly say I don't. I can control water and it boosts my power. I move faster in rain too. . . .Why do you ask?

-No reason. I like it because when if falls loudly it feels like it's blocking out the world. Everything else is silent and even if it's not, the rain would drown it out. It's extermely peaceful.

-It doesn't drown itself out. Wouldn't the loud rain break the peace?

-True, but for some reason it doesn't bother me. At least not as much as fake silence covered in a million different sounds. . . . .That's all for today, we'll train tomorrow as usual.

-Good night.

-Good night.

Shizuku leaves and Light is left alone in the room. He lies on his bed listening to the sounds of thunder. A heavy downpour starts falling and Light quickly fades out and falls asleep while listening to it at around 23:00

The rain didn't bother Shizuku either and she also fell into a light sleep as usual. The rain finally stops at around 3:00 and as if it stopping were an alarm clock, Light woke up immediately. He looks at his phone.

4 hours huh? not that bad. . . .

He walks over to the window and looks outside. It's a full Moon. It looked very large pale and yellowish. After a few minutes he thinks to himself.

Maybe I'll go outside for some fresh air.

Now outside, he takes a deep breath, walks around the yard for a bit and finally looks up at the Moon again. Looking up he glances at the roof. He finally notices Shizuku sitting up there in her blue dress and sandals starring intently at the Moon.

After a few seconds he walks into the house and gets on the roof through the attic window himself. He sits down next to Shizuku and starts talking.

-Sup. Couldn't sleep either?

She glances toward him for a second and keeps looking at the Moon.

-I like looking at the Moon when it's full. It feels like it's giving off some special power that calms me down.

Light looks at the Moon too then speaks up again.

-The summer Moon is extremely somber, large and yellow. I don't like it very much. But come winter it's probably one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

-I agree. But it still gives off a faint power even now.

-I guess. . . .Maybe come winter we could watch it together like this again.

-That might be nice. . . .

Light lies down and closes his eyes meaning to relax for a moment but instead falls asleep. Shizuku notices but doesn't wake him and instead keeps looking at the Moon until around 4:40 when the sun rises.

The sunrise also wakes Light up and he sees Shizuku looking down at him.

-You're awake?

-Huh, Shizuku? Oh sorry I must have dozed off.

-I don't mind. . . . .

Around a minute passes while Light wakes himself up.

-The Sun's already up we should probably get down. Good thing it's Sunday so there's no school. . . .Hey, feel like going out later? After training I mean. We could go to the beach or something.

-Sure. It's hot and I don't feel like staying indoors all day.

-It's settled then. Lets go after lunch.

. . .

They had breakfast as usual and Light did his training routine, then they rested a at home until lunch and went out around 14:30 under the pretense of reconnaissance. First they went to the beach and walked around for around an hour until finally stopping at a caffe to take a break and cool off. Light was drinking lemonade while Shizuku was eating her 3rd shaved ice since Light kept asking her if she wanted more every time she finished one. Shizuku talks while eating.

-This is not only a good way to stay hydrated but it also cools me off. I don't feel like evaporating in the Sun.

-I don't think that would happen since we're right next to the ocean. . .

She pauses for a second.

-True

And keeps eating.

Light sighs and speaks after taking a sip of lemonade.

-A change of pace is nice every once in a while. Just sitting around the house in between training can get repetitive.

-I guess, but there's plenty of books to read. And having the time to be bored is a luxury.

-You're right. Might as well enjoy it while we can. . . Lets go shopping around after this.

-That's fine by me.

They go around the shopping disctrict for a while, looking at the windows mostly just walking around and eventually end up at the park where Light joggs every day. They sit on a bench in the shade and rest for a few more minutes.

There's kids walking around, mothers pushing their baby carriages, old people sitting on benches, men walking their dogs etc.

-See, the park's a lot more lively on the weekends, good thing we found a bench.

-I guess nobody wants to be indoors in this heat. It's nice here in the shade though. There's a nice wind blowing too.

-True, it's pretty nice. . .

Light closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and relaxes for a few minutes while Shizuku looks around at the people. She eventually mumbles to herself with an emotionless expression.

-Must be nice to be so carefree.

-Huh? Did you say something.

-No, lets go back.

-Oh sure, it's getting pretty late.

They get home at around 18:30 and Rinko is waiting for them at the door.

-Yuuto you're back. A bunch on packages arrived for you while you were away.

-Ah finally I've been waiting for those. Shizuku, things are gonna get a lot less boring around here.

Shizuku tilts her head.

-Hmm?

End of chapter 4

 **After chapter notes:**

In case anyone cares since the last chapter I took my entrance exams and got a scholarship to a traffic university accredited by the EU yay! Wasn't my first choice but good enough.

Basically I'll be writing a lot more now, the plan is a chapter every 2 days or so but I probably won't keep that up for long or at all.

As for the story itself I see no reason why Light shouldn't be able to use his powers to strengthen himself so it should be just fine. I used that VN style of writing with just showing the important stuff in a day like they did in Kanon.

There was some development between Light and Shizuku here, Rinko and Himari got shafted as excepted but they'll get their chance later don't worry. Lights connection to the Moon is somewhat important so keep that above part in mind come winter in story. The packages are the stuff he ordered last chapter, you'll see soon enough.

I promise, very soon the actual action will start. It's been about 2 weeks in story since the first chapter and in 2 more the battle vs Ageha will happen. With my time skips that'll be chapter 6 with preperations in chapter 5 probably.

Kuesu shows up right after that so yea.

Can't wait for Tama to show up (Like 10 chapters from now, maybe more (sadface))

Till next time


	5. End of Silence

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

In this chapter there are songs playing. I recommend you go listen to them when they are queued but you don't have to. In the fights I'll be using some technical terms so at least look up basic punches to better comprehend what's going on.

Don't worry about the PC parts. It's only in the first paragraph and has little importance overall. I'm just not gonna have her listen on shitty PC speakers.

 **Chapter 5: End of Silence**

There were multiple large boxes on the porch. Shizuku and Rinko help Light carry them to the living room and he starts opening and looking through them.

-This one should be the case, that one is probably the monitor.

-Yuuto, what exactly is all this stuff?

-PC parts mostly, that large one contains speakers. This here should be the sound card. That one's the audio amplifier . . .

-Why did you even order all this stuff?

-Huh? Lots of reasons. To listen to music mostly I guess.

-How much did this all cost? Should you really be spending your money so recklessly?

-Don't worry I know what I'm doing. Shizuku, lets take this stuff to my room. It'll take me a few hours to set all this up, might as well get started now.

-Ok.

They carry the boxes back to Lights room and he starts unpacking some of the smaller parts. Shizuku picks up the sound card and starts talking.

-Do you really know how to set this all up? It looks pretty complicated.

-Should be fine, I just need some time.

-If you say so.

She sits on he bed while Light starts building the PC. It takes him about 20 minutes to finish setting up the case. Shizuku has started reading a manual for the sound amplifier.

-This is probably pretty boring for you. You don't have to be here if you don't want to. I can finish setting this up on my own.

Without taking her eyes off the manual she responds.

-That's ok, I don't mind learning more about modern technology.

-Suit yourself. I just have to hook this up to the monitor, keyboard and mouse now. And plug it in of course.

He clears up his work table and sets the HD Samsung monitor there, then the keyboard, the mouse pad, and drags the cables behind the table and to the case. He plugs everything in and turns on the PC.

-And voila.

Light is sitting on his chair at the table and Shizuku is standing behind him now.

-You're done?

-We'll I've set up most of the hardware. Now I've gotta instal Windows on this, haven't even started on the speakers yet.

Light puts in the Windows instal disc and it starts loading on the screen.

-So how long do you think it will take?

He answers while typing.

-Well I've just gotta input some information here and then we wait for it to instal. I'll just set up the speakers while we wait. . . . .And that's it. Now it'll take about 30 minutes to instal.

-Hmmm.

-Come on, help me unpack the speakers.

They unbox the speakers and place then one on each corner of the room opposite the bed, with the table in the middle between them. Light sets the amplifier on the table next to the monitor and uses an optical cable to hook it up to the PC. He hooks the speakers to the amplifier using speaker wires. Around then Windows finishes instaling too.

-Looks like it's done. I've just gotta instal some drivers and programs now, make sure everything is working and we should be good.

After around 15 minutes of tinkering around on the computer Light takes a sigh and starts talking again.

-Finally done. Well time to test this out. Shizuku, take a seat on the bed over there.

-Sure

He starts going through another box.

-Good thing I ordered some albums too. Ah here it is.

He takes out "Dear Agony" by Breaking Benjamin and inserts it into the CD-ROM

-And click.

"I will not bow" starts playing loudly throughout the room. "FALL!" Light pushes his chair back closer to the bed and listens on with a pleased expression on his face. Shizuku, who has never heard music on such a high quality level before, sits there frozen and listens. Her emotionless expression slightly loosens up as she takes in this new experience. The song ends and Light still looking quite pleased with himself starts talking.

-Seems like everything's working fine. So what did you think?

Shizuku responds honsestly with a blank expression.

-I'm not sure. I've never really listened to music before.

-Want me to play another?

Shizuku nods

-Let me see. . . .Here we go.

*Click* "Dear Agony" plays. Light again pulls his chair to the side and listens to the song. Shizuku completely blankly stares at the wall and listens as if she's completely lost in the song. He glances at her around half way through.

"Somewhere far beyond this world. . . .I feel nothing anymore" Shizukus mouth is slightly open while her eyes regain colour and for a second almost appear as if they're tearing up. Light first looks a lttle surprised but soon puts on a satisfied smile.

Song ends. Shizuku, still staring blankly starts speaking.

-It's like he's speaking the words of my soul, giving my ill defined feelings shape and letting them escape. I've never felt this way before.

Her eyes return to their original shade and she turns to Light.

-That's what music does. If it resonates with your own emotions like that, it means the artist did a good job.

-I see. . . .Will you play something else?

-Yes of course, let me find something.

He rummages through the box again and pulls out " _Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones_ _"_ by Black Veil Brides and swapes the discs.

-Here we go, this is "In the End" by Black Veil Brides.

Song plays. They both listen to it more normally this time.

-I think I liked it.

-So want me to teach you how to use this PC?

-Huh?

-You know, so you can listen to music or something while I'm not here. If you want I mean.

-Yes that'd be great. Please teach me.

-Sure thing.

Light shows her some basic functions, how to insert discs, open folders, documents etc. and she learns it in about 10 minutes.

-Ok I think you've got it. Go pick something out and play it.

She goes through the album box.

-Hmm lets see here, this one looks itneresting.

She pulls out "Immersion" by Pendulum and places it in the CD-ROM. *Click* "Under the Waves" plays.

-That was pretty different. . . .I still kinda liked it though.

-There's lots of genres in music and different people preffer different ones. You'll be able to recognize them after you've heard enough songs.

-I see. Hmm, lets try this one next. . . . . . . .

After a few more songs they turned off the PC and went down for dinner around 21:00. It turns out the houses walls are pretty thick so not much noise made it's way downstairs. After dinner Rinko went home and the others watched some TV until 22:30 and then split up to go sleep. The daily meeting happened at 22:50.

-Today was a nice day. It feels nice to take a breather every now and then. Pretty soon We'll start training for real.

-As in sparring?

-Yup, We'll talk about it some other day but probably in another week.

-Got it.

-That's all for today. We'll go train after school as usual. Anything else you'd like to add?

After a few seconds of silence Shizuku speaks.

-I think I had fun today. And thanks for showing me how to use the PC.

Light is slightly surprised but quickly puts on a satisfied smile and responds.

-Glad to hear it. I had fun too. Good night

-Good night.

. . .

Training continued as normal for 3 more days and now Light is at school eating lunch with Rinko and Himari. They're talking about the festival that's being held the following day.

-So Yuuto, what time should we go?

-Probably around 19:00. No need to get there too early.

-I've been waiting for an opportunity to wear my new Yukata. Can't wait! What about you Himari? Will you be coming with us?

-No I don't like festivals, or temples for that matter.

-Well that's a shame, I wonder if Shizuku will be coming. . .

-I'll ask but I doubt it. (Not that I really need to)

-So it'll be just the two of us like old times.

-Pretty much.

Meanwhile back at the house Shizuku is playing around with the PC, trying out different albums.

-Hmm, what's this? "Body Head Bangerz Volume 1". . . .Guess I'll give it a shot. *Click*

"Can't be touched. Can't be stopped. Can't be moved. Can't be rocked. Can't be shook. . . .We hot, when will you niggaz learn."

-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Light and company come back from school around 14:00 like usual. He notices Shizuku is not downstairs.

-(Probably listening to music or playing on the PC again. She's been doing it for the last couple of days.)

As he gets closer to his room music can be heard coming from it.

"Go hard nigga, or go home nigga"

-Christ. . .

He walks over faster and opens the door.

-Shizuku?

-Oh Light you're back. I've been listening to volume 1 of these "Body Head Bangerz". It's completely different from anything I've heard before.

-Yea those are my rap albums. I mostly listen to them while I'm working out. Great motivation I'll tell you that.

-I see.

-Anyway lets go have lunch and then we'll train again.

-Right.

Later that night during the daily meeting.

-About tomorrow. I have to go to some festival with Rinko, yearly tradition.

-I hope you have a good time.

-I'll try not to stay long. Maybe 2 hours tops. . . . You can come if you want but (cut off)

-It's fine I don't like crowded places anyway. I'll just stay here. Go enjoy your time with the girl.

-Fine I guess.

-Anything else?

-No, not really.

-Good night then.

And she walks off.

-Yea good night. . . .

. . .

The next day Light went to school and trained as usual then went with Rinko to the festival around 19:00 as planned. They went around the festival, played some games, ate some overpriced food and eventually they went to that accessory shop so Light could buy Rinko her red ribbon.

-Thanks Yuuto for remembering. You've been so different lately I wasn't sure if you'd still care about something small like this. But it still means a lot to me.

-Sure I've changed but I'm still me. I won't just suddenly shove aside our tradition like that.

-Right. I was stupid for thinking that. I'm really glad it was just the two of us like last year.

-A change of pace is nice every once in a while. I'm glad I came too.

And Rinko smiles.

While this was happening at the festival, Shizuku and Himari were left alone in the house. Since this is the first time they've ever been alone without Light around, Himari decided to run a few of her concerns past Shizuku.

-What are you really after mizuchi? I don't buy that story about grandfather Gen for a second. What are you scheming?

Not getting up from the couch and looking extremely unamused Shizuku responds.

-I'm not scheming anything. I'm just protecting Light until he's strong enough to fight on his own.

-Why? What's in it for you?

-I have my reasons. Though I don't feel like sharing them as they don't concern you.

-If that's the truth, then you might as well just leave. It's my duty to protect the young master anyway, not yours.

-He obviously doesn't think you're cut out for the job, seeing how he's asked me to do it instead.

-You're really getting on my nerves mizuchi. I'm stronger than you and I'd be willing to give up my life for him if that's what it took. I'll protect him for sure.

-You mean lke you protected your last master?

-Ugh! That was different. I've learnt my mistake. I'll definitely stay by my masters side this time.

-That's not even the point. You're a beast. If you go on a rampage you can't guarantee that you won't attack even him.

Himari having nothing to say to that stands there speechless. Shizuku seeing that she's pretty much got this rapped up smiles while delivering the last part.

-Light's not stupid, he knows what he's doing. Just shut up, be a good little pet and do what your master tells you.

-Pfff

And Himari goes off somewhere so Shizuku returns to reading her book.

She came back eventually when Light returned and everyone had dinner around 21:30. They split up around an hour later. The daily meeting took place at 23:10.

-So did you have fun at your little festival?

-I guess. I don't really like festivals either to be honest, but it's a tradition so I had to go.

-I know. You told me that already.

-What about you? What did you do while I was away?

-Ate apples, watched TV and disciplined the house pet.

-She did seem a bit quiet at dinner. . . .Well no matter. This Sunday we'll be going to the forrest for some training. It's finally time for you to help me train for real.

-Very well. I'll be ready.

-Good. That's it for today, we'll train tomorrow as usual.

-Good night.

-Good night.

. . .

The following Sunday, Light and Shizuku are getting ready to go to the forrest. They're now having breakfast before leaving. Shizuku is eating cereal and Light is making sandwiches.

-I'll pack a few of these up for the trip. We'll be there for a while so might as well eat lunch there.

-Bring some fruit too. Oh and lots of water.

-Don't worry I will.

-So we're going to the same forrest where we first met right?

-Yea I guess so.

All my ayakashi friends are there but I guess it can't be helped. They'll want to see him and know what I've been doing eventually. . .and if anyone is stupid enough to attack us I'll just kill him.

-Well I'm about ready on this end. I'm going to my room to change and get my things. Go get ready and meet back here in 5 minutes.

-Got it.

Light put on his tracksuit and gray jacket and he puts a mouthguard in his pocket. He grabs his phone and heads downstairs where Shizuku is waiting wearing her cute white dress and sandals (from chapter 14).

-Ready to go?

-Yup lets get going.

It's around a 30 minute walk to the forest and they get there around 9:00. Light streaches and starts talking.

-Uhh it's a nice day out. Lets walk around a bit before we start. We've got all day no need to rush.

-Fine by me.

-So how's it look? Any ayakashi nearby.

-Yes they're swarming all over the place. Doesn't look like they intend to attack us though.

-That should be fine. Lets go over by the river.

-Ok.

They get to the river and sit down in the shade under a tree.

-This is the place we first met, remember?

-I remember. I haven't forgotten the deal we made either.

-Right, nothing's changed. I will keep my end as promised.

-Good.

They sit around relaxing for 20 more minutes and then Light finally speaks up.

-Well that's about enough resting. Lets move over to a clearing and begin.

-Sure.

They get up and walk for around 5 minutes to a clearing in the forest. There's a good 15 square meters of space in each direction. Light starts explaining the plan.

-Obviously there would be no point just going at each other mindlessly. I wouldn't stand a chance and you'd probably just cut my leg off or something. So to make this a bit more fair and actually have a point, lets establish some rules.

-What do you have in mind?

-Well for starters, to avoid serious injury, we're not allowed to use our powers. That means I won't use my light ferry and you're not allowed to morph into water.

-So it'll be strictly martial arts?

-Exactly. No weapons either, not that I think you'd use any.

-That's fine by me.

-Oh and lets avoid leaving the clearing or jumping into the trees. It would be really annoying trying to climb them.

-Anything else?

-Nope that's pretty much it. We'll go until one of us says to stop or becomes unconscious. We start when this coin falls on the ground.

He drops his jacket, puts on his mouth guard and tosses the coin in the sky.

-(I have no chance to outmaneuver her. My best bet is just pound away with my combos and try to make her block. She's strong but we're not wearing gloves so there's no way she can block forever.)

-(I'll just wait and see what he does for now. He's slow so no reason to go on the offencive immediately, and I wanna see how strong he is too.)

*DROP*

Light gets into a right handed stance and starts moving rapidly towards Shizuku who is still just standing there motionlessly. He throws a jab which she dodges easily by stepping back as smoothly as water. He quickly throws another one which she dodges in the same way, but he can keep doing this indefinitely and the arena is limited. Knowing this, before getting cornered she blocks the third one while pulling back so it barely nicks her. Feeling his jab connecting Light instantly throws a right overhead with great force. Shizuku dodges this by turning her body and moving to her left, to which Light immediately responds with a left hook. She twists in the opposite direction, dodges his blow and grabbing his arm tosses him in the direction of his punch. She doesn't follow up so Light falls down, rolls once and gets back up.

-(She's still just standing there. Screw it I'll go in again)

After two seconds he goes in running and when he gets close raises his left arm for a jab.

-(Again? I'll just dodge to the left again. . .No it's a fake)

He suddenly pulls his left arm back and hits with a rapid right cross.

-(No time)

She ducks down to dodge the cross and Light quickly unleashes his already in position left arm for a hook.

-(No choice)

She blocks it with both arms while jumping in the direction of the blow with the result of greatly softening the impact and knocking her back around two meters.

-(Annoying. Blocking hurts and I can't morph into water. . .He's coming again. Enough of this, I'll end it now.)

Light was about to go for an immediate left hook but before he can Shizuku lets loose and upward kick with her right leg. Light quickly responds in panic by placing both arms in a cross in front of her leg blocking it completely but sliding him back half a meter.

-(Ugh! That hurts. She's even stronger than I thought.)

With her right leg stopped in the air Shizuku quickly pulls it back, jumps up and throws a left kick straight at Lights head. He barely manages to block in time with both arms and stumbles back a few times in the direction of the kick, barely stopping himself from tumbling over.

-(I can't let her throw another one or I'm done. She's coming! Whatever I'll just counter at this point, I'm fucked either way)

Shizuku runs at him so he throws a desperate left hook aiming at her head. She instantly ducks dodging the blow and sweeps at his feet with her right leg.

Completely off balance Light falls forward.

-FUCK!

Taking advantage of his momentum Shizuku quicky knees him in the face with her left leg causing him to fly several meters backwards. He falls on his back face up still conscious and looks up at the sky.

Shizuku walks over to him and stands in his field of vision. Upon seeing her he speaks.

-As expected. You went easy on me with that last hit didn't you?

-Of course I did. What good would cracking your skull open at this point be?

He slowly sits up

-Fair enough. Lets call it quits for today. I'm pretty beat up and tired too.

-As you wish. . . .Watch your feet next time. You were completely defenceless.

-I'll keep it in mind.

They sit down next on a sheet Light pulled out from his bag and rest for a while.

-You were correct with your strategy. If you were stronger and managed to make me block a few more times I might have lost.

-Good to know. Really some battle experience with this body is what I was aiming for. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could beat you in a fair fight.

-I figured as much.

-So wanna have lunch?

-Sure

They unpack the sandwiches and fruit and start eating.

Meanwhile ayakashi are lurking in the sadows wispering.

-So that's the Amakawa demon slayer.

-I can't believe how strong he's gotten in just 3 weeks.

-He wasn't even using his powers, how is that even possible? He was just a weak kid last time I saw him who couldn't do anything without the Crimson Blade protecting him.

-Soon he will be a force to be reckoned with. I hope Shizuku knows what she's doing, otherwise he could become a major threat to us in the future.

-We should kill him now while we still can.

-Don't be stupid, Shizuku's with him. She already said she'll watch over him for now. If you attack him now, best case scenario you might get away with your lives.

-Pfff. Fine, We'll wait for a better opportunity.

They finish their lunch around 11:30 and start packing up their things.

-You know it's still early. It'd be a shame to go back home on such a nice day.

-I guess.

-I'll just do my usual training here, no point going all the way back just to run to the park. I brought my mp3 too so there's really no problem.

-Fine, go do your thing. I'll follow you from the trees in case something happens.

-Right. I'll just bring all our stuff with me, I was planning to wear weighs while running soon anyway.

He puts on his backpack, puts in his earphones and starts running. Shizuku disappears into the trees and goes into stealth mode. Light runs around for about 15 minutes and then stops to rest for a bit. The ayakashi from before are still following him and scheming.

-He's finally alone, this is our chance!

-Shizuku seems to have gone off somewhere, she might be nearby and come if we attack recklessly.

-It doesn't matter I'll kill him in 3 seconds, there's no way she'll be here in time.

-He's right, I'm going too. It'll be even quicker if we attack together.

-Go if you want but I'm taking no part in this. I think it's a bad idea.

-Suit yourself. more glory for us. Lets go!

Two of the ayakashi get ready to attack, one from the ground, the other leaping from the trees. Meanwhile Shizuku is watching them still hidden.

Fools. No choice I'll have to kill them. They knew what they were getting into by attacking so they have nobody but themselves to blame.

Before she can move, Light, without turning around, raises his arm in her direction signaling a stop.

Huh? Fine have it your way.

So she stays hidden. The grounded ayakashi charges at Light from the front. He drops his bag and puts his right hand on his knife. He takes it in a backhand grip and when the ayakashi comes within 5 meters of him, goes into action.

Lights feet spark for a second and he kicks strongly against the ground propelling him forward towards the ayakashi. His left arm sparks and he leads off with a jab. The ayakashi surprised by his speed blocks it with his claw but stumbles back due to the force. Light immediately follows up with a empowered knife swing from his right hand cutting through the ayakashis other arm, then quickly passes it to his left hand into a forward grip again empowering it and swinging upwards slicing the ayakashis body in half. Then without a moments notice Lights whole body sparks up and he turns around tossing his knife behind him, which ends up piercing the other ayakashi through the head and eventually implanting itself into a tree.

The thrid ayakashi who was watching is shocked and panicked.

-I told those idots it was a bad idea. I have to get out of here before he notices me.

Turning around he notices Shizuku standing behind him.

-You were smart not to attack him. Even if by some miracle you were able to beat him, I would have still killed all three of you.

-So you were here the whole time. . .What now? will you spare my life?

-You did nothing wrong. Just go tell the others what you saw. "The Amakawa demon slayer is strong enough to kill minor ayakashi". Or something like that. That should keep some of them from attacking at least.

-Fine. But are you sure he won't betray you and come slaughter us all?

-For now it doesn't seem to be his intention. I can't speak for the future but if he does I'll kill him myself.

-At the rate he's growning, I pray you'll be able to.

The ayakashi jumps off through the trees. Shizuku looks down at Light who picks up his bag, waves at her and keeps running.

-So do I. . . .

End of chapter 5

 **After chapter notes:**

That's it for this chapter. Finally the battles are starting. I also gave Rinko the stupid ribbon so it should be fine for a while. Next time is definitely the battle vs Ageha. Some strategy meeting, planning, fighting etc.

Himari will be glad she can fight again. Oh and Kaya (that one tatami child girl who lives at the estate and hates Yuuto) shows up too but I won't have her fight.

That's about it

Till next time


	6. First Blood

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Chapter 6: First Blood**

After the attack Light continued his run and eventually he and Shizuku made it home without further incident. The next day he started wearing one kilo leg and arm weights on his runs and wearing a 5 kilo weighted vest during his push ups.

The next Wednesday he went to train with Shizuku in the forest again with similar result as last time, minus the ayakashi attack. That night at the daily meeting. . .

-This coming Saturday is a school holiday, so we have the day off. It's the perfect opportunity to go have our first real battle.

-So you're going to go look for strong ayakashi to fight? Weren't you suppose to prepare for when Tamamo no Mae comes to attack or something?

-True but some real combat is probably a good idea.

Shizuku looks at him with a cold expression.

-Don't worry we won't be going around attacking random ayakashi. Listen, at my grandfathers house there is a hinoenma waiting to ambush me. She has a daidarabotchi working with her too. Even if we do nothing she'll come and attack us eventually. Might as well strike first so we don't have to worry about it later.

-If that's tue I have no problem with it. So I imagine your plan is to go to your grandfathers house for the weekend and fight them there.

-Exactly. This is just an advance notice. Himari will be coming with us so I'll discuss battle strategy with you both later. We'll be leaving on Friday night, fighting on Saturday and coming back here on Sunday, assuming everything goes well of course. I'll talk about all this tomorrow at lunch.

-Fine. I'll be ready to fight when needed.

-Right then. That's it for today. Good night.

-Good night. . . .

. . .

The next day at lunch, Light speaks up and grabs everyones attention.

-Listen up! It's been about a month since I've started training and I think it's time to see the results.

Her face brightening up at the words Himari interrupts.

-Young master, does that mean we're finally going to do some real demon slayer work? Like hunting strong ayakashi?

-You're half right. It's not official demon slayer work, but we will be fighting decently strong opponents. It's more like taking care of a potential threat.

-I doubt you mean the random ayakashi scattered around town.

-Correct. Let me explain.

Shizuku sits quietly sipping water durring Lights explanation.

-For starters, I've gotten word that a group of ayakashi are camping at the Amakawa estate, planning to attack me when I go back there. They don't know where I live, and they know I'll have to go back there eventually. So instead of hiding or walking into their trap, we're going to strike first.

-Wise decision. We can't have enemies casually strolling around our territory like that. So do you know exactly which ayakashi we're up against.

-I do. A hinoenma with a daidarabotchi working with her. Also a ippon-datara, but that one's more of an annoyance than an actual threat.

Himari starts nodding with a smile on her face.

-Hm, hm. Worthy opponents indeed. So how do you intend to go about this. Do you think they'll just attack us if we show up? They may have second thoughts it they realize we're on to them. Or perhaps attempt an ambush. . .

-Exactly. That's why I've thought of a plan to lure them out. This friday I'll be going to the estate for a little visit. I'll need you and Shizuku to come with me. Rinko, you'll be staying here. You'd only get in the way if you came and I can't guarantee I'd be able to protect you in case things turn sour.

-I understand. While I'd like to go and make sure you don't do anything too dangerous, I wouldn't want to hold you back. I'll stay here and watch over the house.

-Glad you're being so understanding. So we're taking the train there, but only Himari and me will show up at the estate. I don't want to scare them off, and if I went alone it would look too much like a trap. Shizuku, that means you'll get off the train a little early and shadow us from there. You're the best for this job since your stealth mode is basically perfect. I expect they'll be watching us at the estate, so sorry but you'll have to spend the night outdoors, and while I doubt they will, make sure they don't attack us in our sleep.

-Logical decision. Don't worry, I'm used to sleeping outdoors. It was a regular occurrence until I started living here.

Light looks at her with a somewhat sad expression.

-Sorry. . .It's just for one night, the plan might fail otherwise.

Shizuku looks down

-I said it was fine. . .

-Right. . .Anyway, me and Himari will show up at the estate and pretend we're there to look at some old demon slaying books being kept there. We'll spend the night and try to lure them out for a fight on Saturday. We'll discuss battle tactics in the living room later.

. . .

Lunch ended and Rinko went home earlier than usual. Around 18:30 Light, Himari and Shizuku are in the living room continuing their talk from earlier.

-So it's like this. The main purpose of this mission, apart from cleaning up future problems, is to test my battle skills. Thereforce you'll leave fighting the hinoenma to me. I will not tolerate any interference unless I specifically ask for it.

-That's a pretty powerful ayakashi young master . Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?

-I think I'm around that level at this point. Hopefully it will work out. . .Himari, your job is fighting the daidarabotchi. You're tasked with taking it out, so use whatever means necessary.

Himari makes a wide smile.

-Great! I've been wanting to fight one of those for a while.

-Very well. I expect you to defeat it. Shizuku your job is more complicated. While we're on the train, when I say so, you'll jump off through the window. From then on I need you to follow us while staying hidden with stealth mode. You need to keep a lookout the enemy who I expect will be spying on us, not quite as effectively. You have the phone I gave you correct?

Shizuku pulls out her phone.

-Right here.

-Good. If you spot the enemy, call me. I'll have it on vibrate and won't pick up so we don't scare them off. Let it ring once for "All clear", twice for "enemy spotted", three times for "unforeseen circumstances". Any longer and I'll pick up. Got it?

-Yup.

-The plan is leading them to the nearby lake so we can fight them there. You'd have an advantage near the watter too. If they end up attacking before then, I expect you to counter them. In that case we'll have no choice but to fight from there. Assuming we make it to the lake, I'll call you. That's the signal to attack. I don't care whether you land a blow or not, I just need you to smoke out the enemy. Durring the actual battle you have two jobs. The first one is providing Himari support fire against the daidarabotchi. If you see a chance for a good strike feel free to take it, but finishing it off is Himaris responsibility. As for the second one, remember the ippon-datara? Well basically it throws down these really annoying pillars from the sky.

I need you to keep those things off me at all costs. I don't care if you kill it, just destroy the pillars, or even if you can't provide Himari support. Just make sure not a single one comes near me, that is top priority.

-I understand. It shouldn't be a problem.

-Excellent. Like I said, I'll take care of the hinoenma, so if you finish before me just watch and dont interfere unless I say otherwise. Are we all clear?

In unision.

-Got it.

-Very good. We'll leave tomorrow after school. The train leaves at 17:00 so I excpet everyone to be ready in time. Unless theres any questions the strategy meeting is over.

With that everyone went back to killing time until dinner and then split of to rest for tomorrows trip.

At the daily meeting. . .

-So tomorrow's the big day.

-We've sparred together, and I saw you fight those ayakashi at the forest, so I have a pretty good idea of how strong you are. To be honest, I'm not sure you could take on a hinoenma right now. Not on your own at least.

-. . .Thanks for being honest, but I'd put my odds around 7/10 that I win. 1/10 we take each other out. . .But don't worry, I'm not stupid. If I think I'm losing I'll back out or ask for help.

-I hope you're right. . .

-To be honest there is another reason why I have to fight her alone, apart from simply testing my skills. Two reasons really. Both of which I can't tell you right now.

-Fine, I'll let you do it your way. Just don't die out there like, we still have a contract to fulfill.

-I won't. . . .Well we best try to get some sleep for tomorrow. It's a three hour train ride.

-Right. Good night.

-Good night.

. . .

The next day school ended as usual and everyone had lunch. Rinko made everyone sandwiches for the trip and after packing up they left for the train station around 16:10. Since it was a two night trip Light only brought his backpack with some essentials and a change of clothes. Shizuku brought a small carry on bag with some clothes inside and wore a white one-piece dress (like in volume 2 chapter 12 when she fought Sasa the first time) with sandals. Himari didn't bring much either except her sword. Rinko saw them off at the station and the train left as scheduled. Light sat front facing by the window, Himari next to him and Shizuku across. He spent the first 40 minutes just watching the scenery. Shizuku did the same occasionally sipping water and later started reading a book. Around an hour in Light started listening to music on his earphones. Himari eventually fell asleep on his shoulder and he didn't bother waking her. Two hours in Light noticed Shizuku looking at the little screen on his mp3 player. Pressing pause and looking at her he speaks up.

-It's "Peace" by Apocaliptica. . . Wanna listen?

He pulls out his earhopes and holds them out to her.

-Sure, thanks.

*Play* She listens with her eyes closed and Lights gaze shifts between her and the scenery. *Song ends* She pulls out the earphones and hands them back.

-That was nice. It's just an intrumental this time.

-Yea, I like listening to it while traveling. . .

At around 19:50 a message plays throughout the train "The train will be arriving at its destination in 10 minutes. Please remain seated until we have fully stopped and the doors open"

-. . .It's about time. Remember what I told you, keep an eye out for any enemies and make sure you stay hidden. Call me if anything happens. I'm counting on you.

-Right. I'm off.

She jumps backwards through the window with her bag and fades into the trees.

-Himari, wake up. We're almost there.

-Mhm, right. I'm awake.

The train stops and since all their baggage is with them, they are free to just walk out and head for the estate. They took a taxicab as far as it would take them and continued on foot. After a 15 minute walk they made it to the estate. In front of the hosue was Kaya, sweeping up the porch. Noticing them she drops her broom and runs up to them hugging Himari

-Himari, you're back!

-Kaya, it's been a while.

-I've missed you so much. I gets really lonely here without you.

-I've missed you too, but you know I have to protect the young master at all times.

She lets go of Himari and turns to Light.

-Speaking of which. I guess that's you, the one keeping Himari away from me.

-Amakawa Yuuto, new head of the Amakawa family. Pleased to meet you.

He says completely seriously and holds out his hand. She reluctantly shakes it.

-I'm Kaya, the tatami child who haunts this house. As much as I hate to admit it, now that Gen is dead you're the new master of this household.

-Thanks for taking care of grandfather in his last days. While I don't intend to leave my current residence in the near future, thank you for maintaining this place. It will always be an important base for the Amakawa family and I never know when I might need it.

Pulling back and looking down she responds.

-You're welcome I guess. . .

-Young master, lets go inside. I'm hungry and tired from the trip.

Kaya smiles brightly and invites them inside

-Come on I'll go make you some dinner, so go relax in the living room.

-Sure.

And they go inside.

After some 20 minutes they have dinner and Light speaks up.

-Kaya, can you show me to the library. I'd like to look through some books while we're here.

-Is that the reason you came?

-Not the main one. We're actually here to clean up some nuisances, but might as well do some research while I'm here.

-Fine, I'll show you after dinner.

-Thanks.

. . .

She leads him through the hallway to a dusty room, which clearly hasn't been used in years.

-This is where Gen kept all his books on ayakashi and the demon slayers. Didn't really read them much in his final years.

-I might take a few books to my room, but I'll put everything back before we leave. Don't feel like disturbing this place too much. Thanks again. I'll be fine on my own now.

As he's about to close the door leaving Kaya in the hallway, her shouting stops him.

-Wait! It's about Himari. Does she really have to stay with you all the times. Now that Gen's dead I'm all alone in this house when she's away. Can't you give her some time off or something. Or maybe just come live here like Gen used to.

-Moving here isn't ideal at this time. Maybe in the future, but right now I'm still going to school and I have friends back home. . . But as far as Himari's concerned you have a point. If this mission goes well I probably won't need her to babysit me 24/7. Maybe we could work something out and have her stay here on weekends or something.

Kaya puts on a very bright smile.

-Ahh! That'd be great! Thanks Yuuto!

-No problem. Oh and you can call me Light.

-Huh? Sure I don't care. Thanks Light!

-We can talk about this on Sunday before we leave, so probably best to keep quiet until then.

-That's ok, I don't mind. Thanks again. I think I'm beginning to not hate you after all.

-Good to know. Well I'm gonna start going through these books tonight. No need to mind me. Good night.

-Good night.

She happily strolls away to her room goes to sleep for the night. Himari did the same a little earlier. Light took a few books to his room and read one about the demon slayer families. He got a few hours of sleep and listened to music and read the book in between.

Durring all this Shizuku has been shadowing them and is now hiding in the trees watching the house.

-(Nothing important has happened yet. Just a few stray ayakashi, but nothing that seems to be actively spying on them. . .I wonder if they're asleep yet. Maybe I should try getting a few hours since we'll be fighting tomorrow. If they show up anyway. . . . I should probably make my report first. One ring for "All clear". Light didn't specify when to call him so I guess it's at my discretion. . .01:00, maybe this is a good time. . . .No wait. Something's approaching. There's two of them. I should report this.)

*Ring* *Ring* *Stop*

-(Two rings for "enemy spotted" that should do it. If I get closer, maybe I can make out what they're saying.)

She fades into stealth mode and moves in closer.

-I knew he'd show up eventually if we just camped here long enough.

-Should we attack now while the Crimson blade is asleep?

-No Sasa, we should wait for them to leave the house. They'll probably go out at some point tomorrow, and if they get far enough away the tatami child won't be able to use her powers.

-You're so smart Ageha, I would've probably dropped a pillar on the house.

-And then they'd just come out and kill you.

-Uhh, that wouldn't be fun. Can we go now? We're not attacking tonight anyway. I'm tired. I wanna sleep.

-Sure. We'll come back at tomorrow. If we're lucky he might go for a morning run alone or something. Lets go.

They both run off through the woods and Shizuku is left alone again.

-Well that worked out. I'll just call Light with one ring and get some sleep. . .

*Ring* *Stop*

She sits on a tree branch, leans on the trunk and dozes off.

Meanwhile on Lights end.

-One ring. I guess they're gone now. Looks like everything is going according to the plan so far. I wonder how Shizuku's doing. . .

He ponders as he looks out the window.

. . .

Sunrise. Light is reading his book while Himari and Kaya are still asleep. Shizuku has already woken up and is hiding, waiting for the enemy to show up. Light walks over to the living room and drinks a Red Bull while thinking about the upcomming battle. After around 15 minutes Kaya shows up.

-Oh Light you're awake.

-Yea I've been up for around 20 minutes.

-I'm a pretty early riser myself so I didn't expect anyone to be up. Did you have trouble sleeping in this house? Or did you just spend all night reading Gens old books.

Light smiles a bit.

-Don't worry I don't normally sleep much. But yea I spent some time reading about the 12 demon slayer families. This stuff's important if I'm going to be the head of the Amakawa family.

-Complicated things, I'm sure. . .Well anyway, have you had breakfast yet?

-No, not yet.

-Great I'll go make something. Himari usually sleeps a lot so lets just eat by ourselves.

-Sure

Kaya cooks some meat and eggs, then they have breakfast together with some light conversation.

-So about why you're here. You said you were cleaning up, so I imagine you're going demon slaying.

-That's true, some ayakashi are threatening the estate so we're dealing with them.

-I'd love to help, but I lose most of my powers if I stray to far from the house.

-It's fine, I'm not going in blind. Everything's been planned ahead. You just stay here and protect the house in case someone is stupid enough to attack.

-Sure, I'll do that. Be careful out there and make sure Himari doesn't do anything too reckless.

-I'll do what I can.

Suddenly Lights phone rings. *Ring* *Ring* *Stop*

-Looks like they're here.

-The enemy? They're attacking.

-No they won't attack the house. Just stalking us for now. We can take our time and get ready.

-If you say so.

Eventually Himari wakes up, eats and after some resting and preparing everyone gets ready to go around noon. Lights wearing a tracksuit, with a gray jacket on and a knife hidden in his pocket. He also brings his phone. Himari's in a kimono carrying her sword.

-Ready to go?

-Of course. I've been wanting a good fight for weeks. Lets go.

-Yea we're leaving. Just remember, we're trying to lure them to the lake first. Don't do anything stupid and just walk next to me.

-Got it! Lets go.

Himari strolls out the door.

-Good luck you two!

Light sighs.

-We're off.

And walks out the door too.

Meanwhile Ageha and Sasa are hiding in the trees.

-Finally they're coming out. I told you if we waited long enough they'd have to leave the house.

-Yay! Does that mean I can drop pillars on them now?

-Not yet. If we attack now they'll just run back to the house and we'll have accomplished nothing. We wait until they've gotten far enough away.

-He he. Your plans always work. Just tell me when I can attack.

-I will. Lets follow them for now.

And they start following Light and Himari while hiding in the trees. Shizuku swiftly pursues, still in stealth mode. She calls Light again to let him know he is being followed as planned. *Ring* *Ring*

Lights phone vibrates but he just keeps going as if nothing happened. Himari is walking slightly behind him.

Shizuku thinks while jumping branches.

-(They've almost made it to the lake. Light said he would call when it's time to attack. I don't think I could kill the hinoenma in one hit anyway, and he said he wanted to fight her alone. Guess that leaves the small one. If I take her out one less thing to worry about. . .They're at the lake, now just to wait for the call.)

Suddenly

-That's far enough! I'm attacking!

Ageha jumps down and tries to slash Light with her dagger. It was a little longer than Lights knife and about twice as short as Himaris katana.

-Die demon slayer!

Light just stands there without looking in her direction.

-Young master!

*Splash*

The dagger is swiftly deflected by Shizukus water shield and Ageha jumps back. Light smiles and turns to face her.

-Surprise. You're the ones who've fallen into a trap.

-Hmp! So you knew we were here all along.

-Since before we even came to Noihara.

-That changes nothing! Sasa!

A pillar drops toward Lights head. *Slice*

Shizuku slices it with a water pistol and the two pieces fall next to Light, neither one touching him.

-Pfft, I guess you're not as stupid as you look.

Light speaks while taking off his jacket and tossing it to a nearby tree

-Now that that's been established, why don't you summon your giant so we can do this.

-Argh, you think you've thought of everything don't you? Fine, daidarabotchi crush them! Kill them all!

*Massive stop* The giant appears and tries to step on Himari who dodges it. Looking at it she smiles.

-It's here.

-Himari! Lead that thing away. It will follow you!

-Huh? Got it.

Himari starts running through the forest and the giant after her.

-Shizuku, do everything as planned.

-Right.

She tosses a water blade at Sasa who panics and starts jumping back into the forest tossing pillars at Shizuku.

-With that we won't be interrupted.

-You're a fool. If you were smart you'd have the Crimson blade fight me and try to run back to your house. Do you really think you can defeat me on your own? Like this you're dead meat.

She smiles sadistically and lunges at Light with her blade. He quickly takes his knife in a backhand grip with his right hand and blocks. The blades clash.

Light looks at her straigh in the eyes and speaks with a cold expression.

-I won't be as easy of a kill as you think.

-Pfff.

She jumps back and stretches her dagger arm trying to swipe at Lights feet. He strengthens his legs and jumps up and towards her, slashing at her exposed left side, but she quickly pulls back her right arm and blocks Lights knife. He immediately lands and throws a kick with his left leg which she blocks with her arm and gets knocked back.

-(That was strong. Way too strong for a human. I have no idea what his power does but I bet he's using it. . . No choice, I'll have to win using speed)

Meanwhile Shizuku is chasing Sasa through the woods. The pillars are breaking branches and sometimes getting stuck in the trees. Shizuku is mostly running on the ground using the trees as cover, tossing blades of water to slash pillars and attack.

Sasa is running back, dodging as best it can but clearly having trouble keeping up. Shizuku stands 5 meters away from Sasa who panics and throws a pillar right where Shizuku was standing. It falls down and watter scatters everywhere.

-Ha ha. I got her! Ageha will be so proud.

The water gathers behind Sasa and regroups forming Shizuku.

-Not quite.

Shizuku raises her leg and throws a downward kick hitting Sasa in the shoulder and tossing it into a tree, knocking it unconscious.

-That should be good enough, the cat probably needs my help. At least they're easy enough to find. . .

She dashes off full speed towards the lake where the massive giant is.

. . .

Himari is running through the forest, sword and cat ears drawn, dodging the giants blows and leading it away from Light. She ended up running close to the other side of the lake.

-This should be far enough. Now face me monster!

The giant roars and swings at her with its massive arm which she blocks with her sword digging her feet into the ground. Himari has a wide smile on her face.

-(Strong. Pefect!)

It pulls back its arm and she jumps up swinging her sword hitting its other arm leaving a huge scratch on it.

-(Doesn't look like I can cut it easily. Maybe if I aim for its chest or eye.)

It swings down again. She evades then runs up the giants arm heading for its head, but is stopped by its other arm and forced to block again with her sword, knocking her back down. The giants swings both arms at her like a propeller one after the other. She jumps to dodge the first one and as the second is about the hit, it is knocked back by a large blade of water.

-Mizuchi.

-I'm done with the other job, so I'm here to provide support.

-I don't need your help! But fine. I need to get to that things head. Can you immobilize it somehow?

-Well we do happen to be next to a lake. If we can force it inside and I should be able to knock it down.

-Sounds good to me.

Himari lunges at it again, dodges its arm and slashes its chest. In pain, it swings its other arm at her and she blocks it with her sword. Shizuku launches a few water blades at its head, hitting it in the eye. This makes it tumble backwards stepping into the lake.

-Perfect.

Shizuku raises her arms and a huge tidal wave hits one of the giants feet, knocking it off balance and making it fall on its back, splashing into the lake.

-Nice work.

Himari runs full speed, leaps into the air and falls straight down stabbing the giant in its massive eye. The giants lets out a huge roar, starts waving its arms and legs around, then stops moving and falls dead in the lake. Pulling out her sword, Himari makes her way back to shore where Shizuku is standing.

-Looks like that's done.

-I could have taken it on my own, but thanks for the help anyway.

-No need to thank me, Light told me to provide support. Speaking of which, we best make our way back and see how he's doing.

-You're right, lets hurry.

And they start running back to the original battleground.

. . .

*Clang* *Clang* *Slash* Ageha is running around throwing constant rapid attacks using her stretchy limbs and Light is blocking them with his knife. He is in a defencive stance now, watching for an attack since otherwise he wouldn't be able to block it.

-(She can't keep this up for long. If I avoid taking major hits, I'll be fine.)

*Block* *Clang*

-DIE! DIE! DIE!

Ageha is swinging violently and Light is clearly having trouble maintaining his grip on the knife from the constant blade clashing. She throws a kick at his head, which he manages to block with his left arm but then a heavy upward dagger swing aiming for his knife hits, knocking it from his hand. His eyes open wide and becomes very focused. He thinks all this in a fraction of a second.

-(Shizuku and Himari aren't around to help me. The knife is too far away, I can't reach it in time. I have no weapon and she's coming again.)

Ageha lunges straight forward at his chest with her outstretched right arm, holding the dagger.

-Die demon slayer!

-FUCK!

Light strengthens his right hand as much as he can and grabs the blade of the knife barehanded. Even after strengthening, the blade cuts into his hand on both sides but he still grips it tightly, pushing the blade to his left. This makes it mostly miss his chest and it ends up only slicing the side of his chest, scratching his ribs. Ageha is propelled by her own momentum and keeps flying towards Light, who strengthens his left arm and hits her straight in the face with a powerful left hook. Since Light was still tightly gripping the dagger, she flies and falls to the ground, letting go of it. She is dazed for only a second, but Light quickly grabs the daggers hilt with his free hand, then stabs it through Agehas left hand pinning it to the floor. She screams while trying to grab the dagger and pull it out.

-AAAAAGGHHHHHH!

But Light immediately grabs her right hand with his left and stretches it to the side, then steps on her right shoulder. Strengthening both his arm and leg he grips tightly and violently rips off her arm, blood gushing everywhere. He then tosses her arm away, takes his leg off and grabs her throat with his uninjured left hand and places his right on the hilt of the dagger, making sure she can't pull it out. Ageha keeps screaming but stops when Light grabs her throat and looks her straigh in the eyes.

Then he starts speaking.

-Tell me one thing. Why did you attack me?

In intense pain she manages to scream out an answer.

-To get more power! If I could suck the blood of a demon slayer I'd become stronger!

-Why? Why did you need more power?

-Ughhhh. It's Tamamo no Mae. She's coming and killing anyone who refuses to join her. I need power so I can stand up to her.

Light loosens his grip.

-I see. . . .Then you're a threat. Die.

Strengthening his left arm, he completely crushes her throat, killing her and spilling blood everywhere. His eyes completely emotionless he exclaims.

-One. . .

End of chapter 6

 **After chapter notes:**

Yea this is why I have this rated M. I have no idea how strict this site is with ratings and this violence is somewhat graphic so just to be safe.

Anyway, this is the end of Ageha and the first real battle is done. I'm gonna give Kaya a sligtly larger role than expected so look forward to her coming back soon even after they go back home.

Next time the aftermath of this fight (Light is injured), and this is probably the time for Tamas first real appearance (what she's doing on her end). After that Kuesu etc etc

Till next time


	7. Demon Lord

**Shadows of the Soul: The Light Shines Through**

 **Authors notes:**

The second half of this chapter focuses on Shuten. First part is the continuation from chapter 6 since it would be too short as it's own chapter. As for when the current story takes place, I'm leaving it ambiguous enough since I have no idea if there's an exact year the author had in mind and I don't feel like constraining myself. It's an alternate world anyway so who cares. I'd say the year should be around 2000-2015 and that's as close as I'm going.

Enjoy the chapter and Tama finally shows up!

 **Chapter 7: Demon Lord**

The battle now over, Light stands bleeding from his right hand and left chest area. His shirt bloody and completely torn up from the fight, he rips it off and tosses it to the side.

Still dizzy from fatigue and blood loss, he walks over to where his knife fell, picks it up and puts it back in it's sheath. He also grabs his tossed aside jacket and throws it over his shoulders like a cape without putting it on. At this point Himari and Shizuku arrive after making their way back from their own battefields. Himari seeing Light bloody and injured, runs up to him attempting to support his wobbly body while shouting out.

-Young master! You're hurt!

Right as she was about to touch him, he turns and pushes her aside with his left arm, his eyes full of anger, pain and resentment, still leftover from his fight.

-DON'T TOUCH ME!

Himari instinctively pulls back, frightened after seeing her master like this. This makes Light come back to his senses and he tries to salvage the situation by continuing in a quieter tone.

-Especially not with those ears and tail out. Last thing I need is an allergy attack right now.

She quickly withdraws her cat parts.

-Ah! Sorry young master, I forgot. But you are still bleeding, we need to treat those injuries as fast as possible.

-I'm fine. Lets just go back to the house and we can treat them there.

Shizuku walks up dragging Sasa behind her who has now regained consciousness and has started crying after seeing Agehas corpse.

-What should we do with this one? I happened to capture her alive. They attacked us first so I'm ok with killing her.

Without looking at them, starting to make his way back to the house Light responds.

-Just let her go. She won't come after us again now that Ageha's dead. Himari, if she attacks me now just kill her on the spot.

-Understood.

Shizuku lets her go and speaks to Sasa.

-You heard him. Go.

She runs off crying into the forest.

-She won't bother us again, lets go.

They start heading back to the house when Light loses his balance and collapses. Himari was about to approach him, but hesitates after remembering the earlier incident. Instead Shizuku catches him and supports him on her shoulder.

-You've lost too much blood. You can't walk in this condition. Lets rest for a bit.

Looking up at her and realizing he just collapsed he agrees.

-Fine

Shizuku leans him against a tree, kneels down next to him and looks at his wounds.

-You won't make it back like this. Listen, my water has healing properties. Let me heal you then we can walk back.

Light looks into eyes and seeing her serious expression he finally resigns.

-Very well.

Before starting Shuzku looks up, turning to Himari.

-Cat, go back to the house and find some bandages and a change of clothes. I immgine he'll be hungry too when we return so prepare some food as well.

-Huh? I'm not leaving him alone with you in this condition.

Light with his wounds still hurting, causing him to have absolutely no patience, lashes out like before.

-GO! . . .That's an order!

Himari jumps back and then comprehending the situation responds.

-As you command.

And dashes off leaving Light and Shizuku alone.

-Alright then, I'll begin.

She places her hand on the top of Lights chest wound, and starts moving it down. Her hand gets wet leaving water behind as it moves across the injury. It was cold and wet, but Light felt no pain as her hand touched his open wounds. After covering the whole injury in water, she leaves her hand there for a few seconds, until the bleeding stops.

Looking down at the injury, Light saw that it was completely closed up, as if it's been healing for weeks. Deep in though, Shizuku grabs his attention.

-Your hand.

-Right, sorry.

Brought back by Shizukus words, he turns his gaze to his right hand then lifts it up towards her, palm down. She takes it between both hands, closes her eyes, and again starts leaking water onto the wound. Light calmly looks at her face, feeling her hands around his while the pain slowly fades. After healing his hand she reopens her eyes and they make eye contact. Their faces close together, neither moves as they calmly look at each other for a few seconds. Eventually, without moving away, Shizuku tilts her head and speaks as she lets go of Lights hand.

-I'm done. This injury was deeper so it's not completely healed. I recommend not forcing your hand for a few days.

He finally pulls back and somewhat paniced looks at his arm.

-Oh, right. The bleeding has stopped and I don't feel any pain either. . .Thanks.

-You've lost blood and still look pale. We should rest for a few minutes before heading back.

She gets up and then sits down next to him, leaning against a tree.

-Good idea, a little while couldn't hurt.

They both just sit and relax for a bit, then Shizuku starts speaking again.

-That ayakashi was pretty powerful. I noticed when she first attacked. Good job killing her on your own, I'm honestly surprised.

-Thanks, but seeing how I got injured it obviously could have gone better.

-I suppose. . .Still I'm impressed. At this rate, in a years time you might actually have a shot at fighting the one of the strongest ayakashi.

-Good to know.

-Also. . .

Shizuku looks straight at him and starts speaking in a serious tone. Noticing this he looks at her seriously in return.

-. . .Next time you get injured, don't hesitate to ask for my help like today. You knew about my healing powers right?

-True.

-Like I said before, having you die right now is inconvenient. I need you alive so don't fight too recklessly. You must have grabbed that blade tightly to get a wound like that.

He looks down.

-I didn't have much of a choice.

-Anyway, if you do get injured again I'll heal you. So just set aside your pride and let me know next time before you collapse.

-Fine, I'll keep it in mind.

-Good. So feeling better? Think you can walk back to the house now?

-Yea I think I can make it. I'm getting hungry too so that's probably a good sign.

Shizuku stands up.

-Lets go then.

-Right.

Light stands up too and they walk back to the house together. At this point Light was still shirtless wearing only his jacket and covered in blood. When they arrive, Kaya and Himari are at the house waiting for them. Seeing Light all bloody, Kaya runs up to them and starts speaking.

-Light are you ok? I heard you got injured. You're covered in blood too.

-Most of this blood isn't mine and my injuries are basically healed so don't worry about it. I just need to eat and get some rest, and I'll be fine.

-Sure, Himari told me you'd be hungry so I already made some rice and fish. By the way who's this?

-This is Shizuku. She's an ally and will be staying with us tonight.

-Pleased to meet you. My name is Kaya and I take care of the Amakawa estate while the master is away. You're more than welcome to have lunch with us too if the master allows it.

-I'll do that. Thanks for the hospitality.

-Ok then, lets eat.

After lunch Light goes to the well and washes the blood from his body. He dumps his torn and dirty clothes, puts on new ones then heads back inside. After that he went to sleep for a few hours, then everyone had dinner and killed some time until 22:00 when they started heading to their rooms for the night.

Kaya is showing Shizuku to her room and Light is tagging along.

-This house is pretty big, so we have plenty of guest rooms. I clean them all regularly so there's no problem. Well, I'll be going to sleep for tonight so see ya tomorrow.

She walks of, leaving Light and Shizuku alone. Light breaks the silence.

-Good work fighting those ayakashi today. And sorry you had to sleep outside yesterday. It shouldn't happen again. Also. . .thanks for earlier. I was being stubborn.

-You don't need to thank me. Just do better next time.

-I will. Well then good night. I hope you sleep well.

-You too, good night.

They go to their respective rooms. Light has no trouble falling asleep due to his fatigue from the battle but still wakes up after some 5 hours then reads a book, listens to music, and sleeps a little more until morning. Shizuku, not quite as tired, still sleeps decently well and while awake just lies in bed with her eyes open.

Come morning Light, Shizuku and Kaya gather for breakfast at 6:30 while Himari is still asleep. The train back leaves at 16:00 so there's still some time until then. Around 10:00 everyone is gathered in the living room. Shizuku was reading a book when Light gently taps her on the shoulder to get her attention. She looks up with a questioning expression.

Light quietly whispers "Watch", puts on a smile, then proceeds to grab everyones attention and speaks.

-Everyone, I just wanna congratulate you all on the excellent work yesterday. You all fulfilled your roles perfectly. Even you Kaya, guarding the house was an important task.

And Himari. You defeated that large giant. That must have been no easy task.

-I will admit the mizuchi helped me, but I would have killed it on my own if I had more time.

-I'm sure you would. Now since the mission was a huge success, I have basically confirmed that I am strong enough to defend myself from medium level ayakashi.

Therefore, to reward you for your efforts and loyalty, I'm giving you some time off to rest.

-Young master. I am glad you are getting stronger, but I have to stay by your side at all times. You never know when a stronger ayakashi might show up, and I need to be there to protect you. I can't just go off and leave you alone like that.

-Nonsense. I am plenty strong to deal with minor threats and Shizuku will be there in case things turn sour. Besides, I'm not asking you to go off forever. I just think a little time off is in order. A break every now and then will keep you sharp when I need you. So I was thinking maybe you could come back here on the weekends. Just relax, spend some time with Kaya, I don't really care what you do. You only really protect me at school anyway so it should be fine. Just attend as normal and spend your weekends here.

Kaya happily bursts in.

-That sounds like a great idea! You should listen to him Himari, your new master seems like a really intelligent person.

-Well I'm glad you feel that way. So how about?

-Young master, that all sounds nice, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone so often. The enemy could take advantage of this.

-You're being paranoid, but fine. How about every other weekend? Less openings and it might even confuse a stupid enemy.

Kaya bursts in, not so happy this time.

-Huh? But that means I'd only get to see her twice a month. I'll still be so bored here alone.

-I still don't think it's a good idea to leave your side for so long. Maybe we should reconsider this.

Lights puts on a grin, claps his hands and speaks loudly.

-Ok perfect! Since nobody is happy, I know I've reached a fair compromise! Once every two weeks it is!

Shizuku chuckles

-(Good one)

-Now with that out of the way, we best start getting ready for the trip home. Since we were already here this week, you can start the weekend after next.

-Ah well I can live with that. It's certainly better than never seeing her like before.

-If you say so young master. . .

A few hours later Light, Shizuku and Himari are about to start walking to the road where they can catch a taxicab to the train station. Light is talking to Kaya while the others are waiting ahead.

-You know if you want, you're more than welcome to visit us in the city. You wouldn't have your powers that far away from the house but if you don't mind you can visit whenever you want. Come back together with Himari next time if you feel like it.

-That might not be such a bad idea. I could come whenever I'm lonely. I'll think about it.

-I'll be looking forward to it. Well we should probably get going. Don't wanna miss our train. Goodbye.

-Bye. Have a nice trip.

The three of them walk off leaving Kaya alone in the house again.

-Well I guess I'll go clean up the guest rooms now. . .

. . .

Late 10th century Japan. On mt. Ooe of the Tamba province, modern Kyoto prefecture, stood a palace. Inside lived the great demon lord Shuten-douji, who would later be known as one of the three great evil yokai of Japan, as well as one of the three strongest ayakashi. Born as a human he was cast aside by his kin who were scared and jelous of his great knowledge and power. He now surrounds himself with an army of loyal demon subordinates, and spends his days drinking and pillaging the capital, Kyoto.

Him and his demon army would kidnap daughters of noble families and take them to their pallace on mt. Ooe, where they would have their way with them and eventually kill them, eat their organs raw and drink their blood. Any who resisted were swiftly cut down by the powerful demon army and their black magic.

Eating the best food, drinking the finest wine, raping and killing as many noble women as he desires. All these things served to distract the demon lord from his emptiness and temporally fill the void in his heart. Power, knowledge, magic. He possesed all of those things, yet it still wasn't enough to satisfy him.

Eventually a punitive squad led by the great warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu was sent to deal with the demon lord. Weary of the demons great strenght, they masquerade as a group of traveling Buddhist monks seeking lodging. When they arrive at the pallace, they are welcomed and entertained by Shuten-douji, who is fooled by their monk costumes.

Demons were running around drinking blood and eating flesh while the noble women danced and served wine. Shuten was already drunk and enjoying himself.

In the middle of the festivities, Yorimitsu slipped magical poison into the demon lords wine, which made him very drunk and sleepy. Seeing his chance, Yorimitsu pulled out his sword and cut the demon lords head clean off. The other samurai started fighting the other drunken demons in order to wipe them all out.

Thinking it's all over, Yorimitsu lets his guard down when suddenly Shutens severed head lunges at him attempting the kill the warrior. However his magic helmet protects him and the demon is unable to do him any harm. Realizing his situation, in great pain and anger the demon shouts out cursing his killer.

-COWARD! You call yourself a warrior? Killing your enemy in his sleep. A true warrior would face his foe head on, not use this trickery and deceit. If I was whole I would kill you and all your allies alone! It wouldn't even take me 10 minutes! I hope you enjoy your victory, because it won't last! You think this is enough to kill me?

YOU'RE WRONG! One day I will return and get my revenge! Until then I will curse you until you die! Heed my words. THIS. ISN'T. OVER!

With that Shutens head stops talking and Yorimitsu responds.

-You are nothing but a criminal and a murderer. And I am your executioner. It is as simple as that. You deserve no fair duel, only to be put down for your crimes as requested by the emperor. I did as the gods commanded! Now burn in hell for the rest of eternity demon!

After barely hearing those words, the life fades from Shutens eyes and the great demon lord is slain. Yorimitsu and the others returned with the demon lords body back to the capital, but as the head was unholy, it was buried outside of the city limits,at a mountain pass called Oinosaka.

. . .

The void, a gap between worlds where space and time are skewed. A single second could feel like a year and there is only emptiness in all directions. Few beings inhabit this place and this is where the demon lord found himself when he became aware of his existence. Like floating in an endless sea of emptiness, he drifts along this space for what feels like an eternity. A voice echos in his head.

-(Who are you?)

He speaks out but no sound can be heard so he can't tell if he's really talking or just imagining that he is talking.

-Shuten-douji.

-(What are you?)

He keeps replying nonetheless.

-A demon lord.

-(What do you want?)

-Revenge against the ones who slew me.

-(What do you want?)

-Like I said, I want to make the heroes pay for their cowardice. I will rape their wives and slaughter their families. Nothing less will pay for what they've done.

-(What do you want?)

He gets agitated and starts yelling.

-REVENGE!

-(What do you want?)

As if a string has just been cut, completely calming him down, he resigns answering disinterestedly.

-I don't know.

-(Where do want want to go?)

-I don't care. Nowhere.

His eyes start closing up and his consciousness fades.

As his eyes completely closed up, he felt as if his consciousness had left him for only a moment. However in reality, centuries could have easily passed. His seemingly eternal rest had been broken by a distant light, shining in the endless void. As he opened his eyes, the light grew brighter and brighter. He slowly starts to raise his arm towards the light when he hears the voice again.

-(What do you want?)

Feeling his strenght returning he answers.

-To find the source of that light.

The light gets brighter as he stretches his arm towards it.

-(Where do you want to go?)

-Wherever that light is.

Completely awake and in full control of his body he keepts reaching out.

-(And do what?)

-Protect that light with everything I have! I want to go there. NOW!

The light completely envelops his vision blinding him. As his vision returns, the first thing he sees is a blonde haired girl wearing traditional Japanese clothes. Disoriented, he starts remembering his past and things start falling into perspective. As the girl had been walking away, she stops and turns her head in his direction. Bluish silver eyes and pale skin, she looks at him emotionlessly and speaks.

-Interesting. An ayakashi just happened to reincarnate at this exact moment? Only powerful beings can revive after their death. Speak, what is your name?

Still disillusioned, the question reaches him and he answers anyway.

-I am the demon lord, Shuten-douji.

-One of the three great evil yokai like myself? This indeed is a coincidence.

-Three great evil yokai? I have no idea what you're talking about.

-Hmm, the legends appeared several hundred years after your death. Tell me, is this perhaps your first incarnation?

-I guess. The last thing I remember is drinking at my pallace. The warriors tricked me and cut my head off.

-So this must be where they discarded your head. That would explain why you appeared in this place. As for why now, perhaps my presence sparked your revival. Either way, my name is Tamamo no Mae.

-I know that name. The Nine tailed fox right? I've heard tales of your exploits across the great sea.

-That is correct. Later on I would come to Japan and eventually be slain. This is my third incarnation since then.

-How long have I been dead?

-Based on the storries around a thousand years, give or take a century.

-I see. This is all pretty strange but I get the gist of it.

-So what do you intend to do now? Judging from the power you're emitting, you haven't reached full incarnation yet.

-I do feel weak. How would I go about resoring my power?

-Simple, you must gather it from other beings, ayakashi or power users. The stronger the being the more power you get.

-Then I must feed on other creatures.

-Yes. Also no matter how many you consume, lesser ayakashi will never be enough to completely resore your power. You'd have to find at least a certain number of stronger beings to do that.

-What about you? Have you reached full incarnation yet?

-You should be able to sense my power. Honestly I'm insulted you'd think I'm that weak. Well, whatever. I'm at about 30% of my full power now. Assuming your full power is close to mine, I'd say you're at around 10%.

-I guess you've still got a long way to go as well.

-Exactly. So how about it? Feel like working together?

-Huh?

-I'm gathering allies right now for an eventual war. If you join me, I promise you'll reach full incarnation and get revenge on the humans for what they did to you. After we've won, you can have anything else your heart desires as well.

-Restore my power and get my revenge. . . Sounds good to me, I'm in.

-A wise decision. I would have eaten you, had you refused.

-Fair enough. Where were you headed to anyway.

Tama turns and points towards the mountains.

-West. I feel like something is drawing me there. On the way we'll consume any ayakashi who refuse to join us as well as any power users we might encounter.

-Very well.

-Lets go then.

Tama starts heading off towards the mountains beyond which the sun is setting. As Shuten watches her walking away he stands there pondering.

-(All those years fighting, killing, seeking power. What was I really doing? Trying to drown myself in pleasure to escape these thoughts? What was it I was searching for?

I thought taking the capital and becoming emperor might get me closer to an answer. Thousands of loyal demons at my command and still it wasn't enough. For so long I've looked down on everyone and only thought of controlling and ruling over them.)

He smiles

-(Perhaps that was the answer. Someone to stand as my equal. I've never in my life even considered following somebody else. Tamamo no Mae. . .This girl I think I can follow.)

With a satisfied smile, he walks after her. For the first time in a long while, he feels excitement wondering what the future will bring. . .

Three months later, Light would meet Shizuku and begin his preparations for the inevitable meeting. As Light continues his training, Tama and Shutens journy is just beginning.

End of chapter 7

 **After chapter notes:**

So yea I think everything is progressing nicely. Second half tells an abridged version of Shuten-doujis story. I added a few bits, so it's not 100% true to the original but honestly this is probably closer to the Shuten-douji from the manga. Oh and if anyone has a better idea on when exactly Shuten-douji is meant to die feel free to tell me since I coudln't find anything more precise than around the year 1000.

Anyway Tama is finally here yay! But I can't do anything really interesting with her yet, that'll come later.

Pretty soon Lights and Shizukus relationship will start really developing so look forward to that. Kuesu shows up next chapter for sure, although depending on how long it is, she may just show up at the end and I'll do the actual meeting later, we'll see. I'll do at least one adventure Tama and Shuten will have before meeting Light (*hint* where is the third great evil yokai?). Also some demon slayer shit should start happening. Eventually Shizukus revenge etc. etc.

Till next time


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